Translationally competent ribosomes are bound to a solid substrate through a specific attachment site. A spatial array of such immobilized ribosomes may be produced on a planar substrate, microbeads, on fiber optics. One or more components of the ribosome complex are preferably labeled, e.g. with a fluorescent dye. Ribosomal RNAs, including mRNA and tRNA; and/or ribosomal proteins may be labeled at specific positions, and arrays of immobilized ribosomes may comprise a panel of different labels and positions of labels. Fluorescence detection can then be used to monitor conformational dynamics and translation rates.