About 40 middle school girls from Bethel, Hebron, Newry and Portland schools, and area homeschoolers gathered Friday, April 17, for the inaugural Girls in Science Day at Gould Academy.

Inside the McLaughlin Science Center at Gould Academy in Bethel, the day quickly turned hands-on.

In one lab, girls mixed colorful bath bombs, carefully combining acids and bases — baking soda, citric acid, Epsom salt and cornstarch — in a session titled “Exploring Chemistry with Cosmetics.” Across the hall, others engineered spaghetti bridges, racing the clock with hot glue and tape.

The inaugural event was organized by Gould junior Mallory Raymond, 17, of Bethel, as part of the academy’s Four Point Program, a four-year sequence of experiential challenges that culminate with a series of presentations.

Students attended from Telstar Middle School in Bethel, Eddy Middle School in Newry, Hebron Academy in Hebron, Waynflete School in Portland and area homeschools.

Telstar biology, ecology and life science teacher Mack Connor brought several seventh and eighth graders while Paige Crockett brought another group from the Eddy Middle School. After a welcome address, participants split into two lab sessions.

For some, it was a first look inside Gould’s labs.

Telstar seventh grader Maddie Osgood, of Greenwood, said she was excited to visit the campus for the first time — and to dissect cow eyeballs during the second session. She said her uncle, Dylan Poland, helped spark her interest in science by creating bursting cells from a kit he purchased.

In another lab, Sadie Tilney and Gwen Marcotte, both of Hebron Academy, teamed up with Truly Woodberry, an Eddy Middle School student, to strengthen their spaghetti bridge.

It bent but didn’t break, they said after a bag of weighted pennies failed to bring it down.

Nearby, another group opted for a crisscross design. Teams calling themselves “pasta,” “spaghetti,” “bolognese” and “tomato” worked against the clock, building bridges that spanned at least 16 inches before testing how much weight they could hold at the center.

Raymond said she hopes the day helps shift how students think about STEM, which stands for science, technology, engineering and mathematics.

She said science learning can feel underappreciated and not prioritized enough.

“I understand that it is a further drive,” she said. “But if you are willing to travel two hours for a soccer game, then you should be willing to travel two hours for women in STEM.”

The idea for the Girls in Science Day grew out of Raymond’s experiences — a leadership conference, a girls-in-science event and a visit to Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut, where she saw the The Women’s Table fountain to mark the 20th anniversary of the university allowing women to enroll at Yale College.

Ashley Smith, head of Gould Academy’s science department, helped plan Girls in Science Day, and Gould alumna and Massachusetts Institute of Technology professor Desirée Plata delivered the welcome address.

Even as she champions STEM opportunities for younger students, Raymond is reconsidering her own path. Instead of pursuing a medical-related field, she now expects to study the humanities.

She hopes to host the event again next year — and then pass the baton after she graduates.