Bianchi and Thornton describe how the cerebrum is the size of a sheet of newspaper when spread out, but crumples into folds to fit inside the skull.
			Professors Visit Prospect Elementary for a Brainy Discussion with Students Text and photographs by Sue Kropp
			SEPTEMBER 21, 2000--Jan Thornton, associate professor of biology and neuroscience, and Lynne Bianchi, assistant professor of neuroscience, visited Prospect Elementary School yesterday to talk with third- and fourth-graders about the brain. The students have been studying anatomy in their science classes. Thornton and Bianchi defined the main parts of the brain for the students, and explained what a brain looks like and what it does. The two also discussed how brains differ in animals and humans. Best of all, they brought visual aids for the children to see--animal and human brains preserved in jars of formaldehyde.
			Thornton demonstrates how the brain fits inside the skull. "The brain is made up of billions of little cells," says Thornton. "If a cell was the size of an M&M, you'd need 50 classrooms full of M&Ms to equal the number of cells in the brain."
			Bianchi helps a student put together pieces of a plastic brain.
			Students look on as Bianchi displays a brain to the class. "If you could hold a brain in your hand, it would have a consistency like oatmeal," says Thornton. The students responded with a unanimous "gross!"
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