Chloroplast Model with cut away section to reveal internal structures

This chloroplast model is a detailed 3D model with a cut away section to reveal the internal structures, for studying the structure and function of this plant cell organelle. Its coloured internal structures include the outer and inner membranes, stroma, thylakoids, grana, lamellae, lumen, ribosomes, DNA and starch granules.

The model gives a visual and kinesthetic understanding of how these structures are interconnected and how they contribute to the overall function of the chloroplast, which is the site of photosynthesis in plant cells.

• Outer and inner membranes: these form the chloroplast's envelope, which separates the internal components from the cytoplasm
• Stroma: the fluid-filled space inside the inner membrane, containing enzymes for carbon fixation during photosynthesis
• Thylakoids: flattened, sac-like structures within the stroma, often stacked into grana
• Grana: stacks of thylakoids, the sites where light-dependent reactions of photosynthesis occur
• Lamellae: membrane structures that connect and support the grana
• Lumen: the space inside the thylakoids, where some steps of photosynthesis take place
• Ribosomes: involved in protein synthesis within the chloroplast
• DNA: chloroplasts have their own DNA, which suggests an endosymbiotic origin
• Starch granule: a storage site for starch, a carbohydrate produced during photosynthesis