The science fair was open to any middle school student who had a scientific question and wanted to answer that question through prediction and testing. The participants had to explain their scientific method and display their procedure in an easy-to-read format.

The first-place winner was Nate Welford-Small, who answered, "Which potential household biofuels contain the most energy?"

Next, as Orange Charter School's representative, Nate took his project to the Physics Division of the Regional Charter School Science Competition in Greensboro on Feb. 2. His project won first place for a second time, which qualified him for the Regional Science Finals in Winston-Salem at the end of February.

"I developed the idea for my science fair project while brainstorming with my mom," Nate said. "There has been a lot of media glare on global warming, so I thought it would be a good idea to tie an experiment to the development of biodiesel fuel. I wanted to show people how easily cooking oil could be used as a fuel source."

Nate's project evolved into the "Power of Common Cooking Oils." He measured the heat efficiency of vegetable oil, olive oil, corn oil, canola oil, peanut oil and McDonald's oil. Also, he was lucky to have found a local citizen to help him make biodiesel.

"I was hopeful that I could win my school's science fair, but did not expect to win at the Regional V Charter School Science Fair," Nate said. "I am nervous about competing in the upcoming Regional State Science Fair in Winston-Salem. But I am going to give it my best shot."