BUTLER TOWNSHIP, Pa. -- It was an exciting Friday morning for biology students at Hazleton Area Academy of Sciences.
"I love this project, I love it. I live for seeing the students really getting involved and getting excited about getting to use the lab equipment," said lab assistant Stephen Pyle as he mapped out the formula for making biodiesel.
The students spent all year learning about fuel and how to make it.
"You can make this out of like virgin vegetable oil or waste vegetable oil. You can even make it out of algae or some plants that live in salt water. And it's a pretty cool process to all of these things," said student Fidel Sanchez.
And so at the end of the school year came the big test: putting the fuel they made into a district truck to see if it would run.
The ignition turned, and the truck fired up as students cheered the success.
"When it took off we were excited 'cause if it didn't work, we would have been like what did we do wrong in this lab?" said student Jonanthony Sencion.
"It makes me feel great. It's a nice sense of accomplishment when they can take the things that they've learned in the classroom and apply it," said teacher Benjamin Evancho.