But former Kooringal High School student Tahnaya Fenwick may well have solved the most irksome question of them all: what happened to the missing sock in the washing machine?

Apparently, Spike the dinosaur takes them.

At least that is the case with Jye, a fictional character in a children's book written by Tahnanya for her HSC design and technology major work last year.

Tahnaya's book Jye and Spike is one of 18 projects on display in the Museum of the Riverina's historic council chambers site until August 3.

"I was talking with my little cousin about socks and we came up with the story," said Tahnanya, the 17-year-old daughter of Racquel and David Fenwick.

Jye and Spike tells the story of a little boy who befriends a dinosaur who takes socks from the washing machine and puts them on his spikes.

Tahnaya is currently studying graphic design at TAFE NSW Riverina Institute's Wagga campus.

She wrote and illustrated the book using hand drawings.

"I like drawing and I have loved kids books from when I was little," Tahnanya said.

Wagga mayor Rod Kendall on Thursday officially opened the exhibition, which has been brought to the city by Board of Studies Teaching and Educational Standards NSW (BOTES).

Councillor Kendall described the exhibition as a small snapshot of the amazing talent that is emerging in Australia.

"The talent that is displayed here is just extraordinary," Cr Kendall said.

"To identify a problem and then design a solution ... is what makes the world go forward."

The mayor said the same type of thinking had led to such innovations as iPads and global positioning systems.

"It's that creativity that has created the world we have today and will create tomorrow's world," Cr Kendall said.

Among the ideas that impressed the mayor was an Emergency CapeBag created by Lucy Forlico, a Lake Wyangan teenager who completed her HSC at St Vincent's College in Sydney.

The garment can be worn as a protective jacket during the day and then converts to a sleeping bag with an inflatable pillow, an emergency light and a whistle to attract attention.

The concept was sparked by seeing homeless people around Kings Cross and Potts Point and recognising they needed something to sleep in.

"From there, the idea grew and I looked at (how to help people cope with) natural disasters," Lucy said.

BOTES representative Lindy Billings said the travelling exhibition demonstrated the exemplary work in design and technology.

"It gives current HSC students and future students an idea of the standards they need to aspire to to have an excellent result in design and technology," Ms Billings said.

Among the other projects in the exhibition is a self-sanitising door handle that disinfects hands as people leave public toilets, a portable noxious weed sprayer and hand controls that allow disabled people to drive go karts.

WHAT: 2013 HSC design and technology major works exhibition

WHERE: Museum of the Riverina's historic council chambers site in Baylis Street

COST: Free

OPEN UNTIL: Sunday, August 3