Is it magnetic building blocks?  A costume jewelry making kit? A stress ball? A science fair project waiting to happen? Metallic putty?

Nanodots ($29-$39), a toy for children 8 and up, is all of the above.  I visited Toy Fair 2010 in Manhattan this week–and, of the hundreds of toy vendor stalls I passed, the Nanodots display ended up being my favorite.  The company owners, two young guys in white lab coats and black-frame glasses, had a curious cluster of visitors checking out the stunning demo designs on display.  And playing with the wonderful shiny, teeny magnetic spheres.  And begging for samples.

In one person’s hands, the Nanodots became an elegant necklace.  Another visitor seemed to have randomly manipulated the microconstructors into a double helix.  Yet another attendee was simply squishing the dots happily between palm and fingertips.

I asked for a sample–and I was presented with a pretty flannel pouch containing about 50 magnetic spheres in black, silver, and steel finishes.  I couldn’t stop playing with the little suckers.  I toyed with them in my pocket while I strolled around the show.  I molded them into rings and strands and flat polygon shapes over lunch.  I shaped them into a ball.  Thoroughly addictive.

I asked Tim Szeto, the company’s Director of Sales and Marketing, to tell me more about Nanodots.  His face lit up as he explained that each Nanodot is essentially a perfect model of a carbon atom–and that the beauty of the product is that there are about as many different patterns and designs as there are varieties of organic molecules.  In fact, Szeto had even consulted a brilliant Hungarian mathematician (Janos Szaki) to arrive at the perfect size-to-strength ratio for each little magnet.  Geek heaven–I was hooked.

Danis Save and Tim Szeto, owners of Nano Magnetics

Szeto also stressed the company’s “no-rules” approach to the product.  Customers will not find instructions and design patterns on the website–instead, they will soon find a Facebook-style community where Nanodot enthusiasts can share their designs with one another.

I purchased two sets for my 12-year-old daughter and 10-year-old son–and watched as they opened up the boxes and got their hands into the gold and silver magnets.  At their favorite Chinese restaurant, the egg drop soup went untasted; and the beef satay got cold on the pu-pu platter.   While my daughter adorned herself with a long silver strand, earrings, and a faux lip piercing; my son constructed a perfect tetrahedron.  And other patrons turned around in their booths to admire the wonderful metal balls.

My daughter told me later, “Mom, this is the perfect toy.  It can get kids to stop text-messaging and just talk to people while they play with the dots.”

My recommendation:  take advantage of a 10% discount for Presto Pink blog readers by entering the code PRESTOPINK at checkout, and order several from the website.  It’s a great, unusual gift for older school-age children, teens, and adults.

And guess what?  Presto Pink offers gift-shopping services.  If you’d like to have a gift closet fully stocked and ready for friends’ birthday parties, give Presto Pink a shout.  They will help you organize your buying, locate excellent deals, and wrap the gifts up beautifully.