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hvparent.com n Hudson Valley Parent 37 By FELICIA HODGES E ach year, Toy Fair - an ex- hibition of vendors - is held in NYC. Designed to give toy distributors and manufacturers from around the globe a chance to showcase their products to buyers and the press, The Hudson Valley Parent staff traveled to the Jacob K. Javitz Center to catch a glimpse of the games, dolls, crafts, and oth- er unique items making their way down the pike. We found lots of cool things to play with, but here's a rundown of a few best bets for the tweens and teens in your life: As STEM (Science, Technolo- gy, Engineering and Mathematics) learning initiatives move full-steam ahead, toys that encourage robot- ics are often seen as a great way to introduce ways to understand how things work. Designed to get hands and minds working together to build things that go, Cubelets are robot blocks that communicate with each other and can be combined to build bigger robots that do different tasks. Easy to connect and work, they range from $159.95 (for a set of six) to $499.95 (for a set of 20) at mod- robotics.com. Low-tech (all you need is a pencil or pen) and completely portable, Dot-To-Dot books have been a go-to learning aid for a long time - but The Greatest Dot to Dot! Books are far from the old tried-and-trues that you grew up with. Using symbols, odd/even numbers, arrows, words and other non-traditional sequenc- ing methods to unveil a hidden im- age, it's hard to tell what the picture is supposed to be until you reach the end. From $5.95 at monkeyinga- round.com/howtobuydots.html If your child is into digging in the dirt, the Macramé Terrarium can provide fun even in the dead of winter. Complete with every- thing needed to make a hanging, plastic terrarium - including chia and wheat grass seeds, potting mix, colorful sand and gravel for layering, Macramé cord, and hanging ring - it also teaches how to tie a few simple Macramé knots. $19.99 at fabercas- tell.com/creativity-for-kids Holiday finds for Tweens & Teens Dot to Dot Macramé Terrarium Cubelets