Molecular storytelling combines three-dimensional (3-D) structure visualization, chemical and biological knowledge, and multidisciplinary functional information from various bioinformatics data resources to generate new knowledge. It prepares students for independent and interdisciplinary learning, facile navigation of public databases to gather relevant information, and experience in exploration of other topics of interest in science. Regardless of students' career choices, molecular storytelling experiences and an appreciation for a structural view of biology can help students become informed citizens. In the article the authors describe a storytelling approach to engage students in learning about the connection between 3-D shapes of biomolecules and their biochemical and cellular functions. The novelty in this approach lies in integrating the exploration of molecular form, with discussion about its functions, gathered from scientific literature and key biological databases. By using this approach, students can learn to: (1) ask questions related to the topic; (2) explore and read the related scientific literature; (3) gather information from a number of authentic bioinformatics resources; (4) identify relevant experimentally determined structures in the Protein Data Bank (PDB; see "On the web"); (5) visualize, analyze, and compare molecular structures in order to understand their functions, or design new molecules with novel properties; (6) integrate various types of data and information to generate new knowledge; and (7) justify their conclusions using evidence from these resources.