This article describes a reverse-engineering project where female students take a part a hair dryer--giving them an opportunity to see the many different kinds of engineering disciplines involved in making a hairdryer and that they work together. Mechanical Engineer, Lyn Gome, describes her experience leading a group of middle school girls through the activity. She explains why she finds reverse-engineering projects to be more effective learning activities than design projects and offers tips on how to make to make reverse-engineering projects a success. A section on ways to extend the activity across more than one session follows. This section includes information on helping girls make connections to careers and explains how role models paired with hands-on activities are the key to turning students on to a career in engineering.