For grown-ups, walking into New York City’s Jacob Javits Center this week is like falling down the rabbit hole into a wonderland for your inner 12-year-old. Toy Fair 2007, which has set up shop in the Center, is hosting all kinds of toys, from Ugly Dolls to ant farms, to satisfy your child (or the big kids, like us).

Young at heart as we are, PM jumped at the chance to check out the year’s new toys. We most enjoyed the educational offerings, like the Space Alien Test Kit, which teaches kids about pH and light magnification—with the added bonus of settling, once and for all, whether or not their little brother or sister really is an alien. The web interactive game also comes with temporary tattoos to identify alien types (we’re Maash-U-Ganah).

Something else we loved—even if it proved a bit more involved than its intended pre-teen audience—was Thames & Kosmos’ microcontroller (pictured at right, top). Kids can assemble a circuit and program the device to emulate any number of mechanical devices, like windshield wipers or a light meter.

PM featured their vintage ant farm in the magazine last summer, but Uncle Milton has one-upped us with their new Gel Colony (at right, second from top). There’s no need to feed and water these ants, because the gel—in addition to causing a cool 3D tunnel effect—contains everything they need to survive. Also fascinating/disgusting was their Aquasaurs habitat, which holds some fairly creepy looking prehistoric water creatures.

While walking the fair, a few trends became apparent: First, live animal habitats are going to be huge in 2007. Second, prepare for your child to be even more attached to his computer; interactive games and toys, like 4Kidz’s Test Tube Alien, which kids hatch, grow and abuse to their heart’s content, make board games (not to mention Tamagotchi) seem boring. And new ornithopter toys, like Uncle Milton’s new bat, might render regular toy planes and helicopters passé. —Erin McCarthy