Some of the girls were visibly horrified.
Others stood in stunned silence. But 12-year-old Jesse McIff leaned forward on tip-toe, hoping for a better view of the fleshy mass which, in her opinion, felt like "a big rubber ball."
The brain was black and shrunken on one side, the result of a car accident in which the organ bounced against the skull, bruising blood vessels and damaging nerve cells -- compelling proof of the importance of seat belts.
But the aim of this particular demonstration was to introduce teenage girls to the wonders of math and science and traditionally male-dominated fields, such as medicine.
About 300 girls, ages 12 to 18, spent the better part of Saturday learning about the brain, cardiac sonography, field biology, zoology, forensics, robotics -- even rocket science -- at the "Expanding Your Horizons" conference at Northwest Middle School in Salt Lake.
Sponsored by ATK Space Systems, the hands-on workshops are taught by women for young women. The men are here to haul boxes," said Trina Patterson, spokeswoman for ATK. "Role modeling is important. It opens your eyes to what's possible."
There is a well-documented shortage of elite female scientists, engineers and mathematicians in the United States. But no one really knows why.
Some argue it stems, in part, from innate differences in the way men and women learn and develop. Many girls' interest in math and science plummets in the fifth and sixth grades, research shows.
Others, though, cite factors such as personality, personal interests and subtle cultural stereotypes. But through education, exposing women to science at an early age in a nonthreatening environment and in ways they find meaningful, it's possible to break gender barriers, Patterson said.
A session on cosmetic chemistry where girls made their own lip gloss and bath salts was a big hit.
Food is always a draw. Girls learned to extract DNA from bananas, make ice cream and build a highway with chocolate. "I know you all signed up for this workshop because you want to build highways, right? It had nothing to do with the chocolate," joked instructor Rose Armstrong, who is an engineer at ATK.
But other workshops were equally popular, including one where girls built small solar-powered cars and raced them.
There were surprises; a zoologist told of the money that can be earned working as an animal trainer in the movie industry.
And one should never discount the "ick factor."
"You get the whole range, from girls who want to see the brain but don't want to touch it, to those who can't wait to get their hands on it. The older kids tend to be the most grossed out," said Crystal Sigunlinsky, a graduate student in neurscience at the University of Utah.
But for McIff, touching a brain was the highlight of a year of science at Hillcrest Junior High. "I loved it," she said. "People think science is so mysterious. But I've always been interested in the brain and how stuff works."
