Exploding volcanoes, magnets, shampoo comparisons; all have been student favourites when the time rolls around for picking a science fair project. But -- fun as they might be -- these are not the types of projects that typically grab a judge's full attention at the fair.

Picking a topic can be the biggest hurdle in the science fair process so young scientists can end up turning to tried and true experiments out of desperation. Any parent who has watched a child endlessly surfing the Internet looking for inspiration is familiar with this anxiety.

A look at some of the winners in the 2003 Yukon Stikine Regional Science Fair shows how students can pick very different topics and approaches, and still come up with successful projects.

Scott Meikle, a Grade 7 student at Golden Horn Elementary, took home the grand prize for his project, "The Takhini Salt Flats -- A Wonder of Salt, Soil and Vegetation."

He used many of the tools and techniques of the professional biologist to study how salt affects plant growth in this unique area west of Whitehorse.

On a cold October day he laid out his study plots, collected soil and vegetation samples, and took the lot of them home for testing.

There he dried all of his samples, weighed the vegetation and used a conductivity meter to test the soil salinity.

The idea for Scott's experiment evolved over time. While he knew all along that he wanted to do something on salt, at first Scott wanted to study how salinity affects the buoyancy of objects in water.

"I was thinking of something like measuring a cork floating in the water. Would it float higher depending on how salty the water was?"

After his dad pointed out that this experiment had been conducted many times before and the results were well known, Scott considered growing plants in soil with different concentrations of salt, but there was not enough time before the fair to pursue that option.

Then his father pointed out that plants were already growing in salty soil at the Takhini Salt Flats, which are less than an hour's drive away. Enter the local factor, and the germ of a great idea.

Botanist Bruce Bennett has been studying this collection of saline ponds located west of Whitehorse for years and has had some success in spreading the word on this unique area.

Scott's project was one of three on the salt flats that made it to the regional science fair. Both Bennett and biologist Randi Mulder advised Scott on his experiment, and loaned him equipment.

Bennett thinks that more students should take advantage of the scientific expertise readily available in the community, and ask for feedback on their projects.

"Students can really benefit from going to scientists and asking whether they are missing anything. The biggest problem with some of projects was that the kids did incredible work, but they did not check to see where a source of error might be, such as proper sampling techniques."

"There are all sorts of people who just love to answer questions and that is part of the scientific process. If you get all of your information from a book, it is not going to be complete."

Claire DeBruyn followed a very different path for her experiment on Time Perception, which won first prize in the Grade 6 level.

While she did some research on the Internet, she did not consult any outside experts, and she based her project on one of those dreamy thoughts that hardly seems like the stuff of science at first glance.

"I've always kind of wondered if time really does fly when you're having fun."

Claire says that her idea really did come out of the blue -- but not right away. At first she too was lured by the glamour of magnets, but decided she really needed to choose something more original.

Her project progressed from dreamy idea to science fair winner as she figured out a way to quantify how people perceive the passing of time.

She timed friends and family members while they were doing various activities; at certain points she asked them how much time they thought had passed, and what their mood was while doing that activity.

"They just did whatever they wanted -- like reading or practicing piano or playing on the computer. It was pretty random," she explains. "Sometimes I timed myself as well."

Claire found that time did fly for a few of her friends while they were doing fun activities, but for most of her test subjects -- including herself -- time unrolled at a fairly predictable pace.

"I found that my hypothesis was not really correct. In general time does not really fly, even if you're having fun."

Organizers of the fair say that finding a successful project can be as simple as following your own interests.

"Students need to have a passion about what they are investigating," says Heather Dundas, the coordinator for Innovators in the Schools.

"Science is a matter of asking questions about the world around us, and students should be encouraged to ask questions about things that matter to them."

Dan Hurley, the chief judge for the science fair, says that any topic can prove a winner if it is well done, but original ideas always shine.

"What really jumps out are the ones that you do not see often, and the ones that grow out of a personal interest. This year there was a good crop too; this year was great!"

Scott and Lee Hawkings, another Golden Horn student, will represent the Yukon at the Canada-Wide Science Fair in St. John's, Newfoundland in May. Lee's project, "Travel Trials: Car vs. Plane" grew out of a long family car trip.

For more information on the science fair, contact Heather Dundas at Innovators in the Schools at 668-8739.