The Science of Coronaviruses

Part 1: What Are Coronaviruses?

Paper Modeling Activity: Build a Coronavirus

Coronaviruses are envelope viruses surrounded by a spherical membrane with a viral genome inside and a spike protein outside. In this activity you will create your own coronavirus. Our paper model provided below can be printed, cut and folded into a 3D physical representation of the virus that you will modify as you move through parts 2, 3 and 4 of the Science of Coronaviruses series. You can also draw your own coronavirus.

We'd love to see your model! Send a photo or video to contactus@3dmoleculardesigns or tag us on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram.

Computer Visualization Tutorial

Explore the parts of a coronavirus.

RCSB Protein Data Bank Resources

Molecular Watercolor Landscapes by scientist and artist David Goodsell, Ph.D.

Coronavirus Life Cycle By David Goodsell, Ph.D.

Respiratory Droplet Molecular Landscape

Additional Protein DataBank COVID-19 Resources

Additional Resources

• For a good general description of a virus: "What's a virus, anyway?" Scope Blog published by Stanford Medicine
• For a passionate virus presentation: "What Is A Virus" virology course video lecture by Dr. Vincent Racaneillo of Columbia University (Don't let anyone tell you that this is too high a level for high school students. Undergraduates are simply slightly older versions than yourselves, who have already jumped through a few more hoops on their way to becoming scientists.)