Looking for some magic in Lambertville, NJ

I returned yesterday from Dust or Magic 2007, a gathering of about 60 people who design children's software, games, toys and software. The ideas were stirring and the setting was beautiful. The conference room was part of the Lambertville Inn, perched at the edge of the Delaware River, on the New Jersey side. For the past 7 years, designers have been coming to this spot to share ideas and learn new tech-based techniques for helping and engaging children in learning and play.

Heading home on the train, recalling all the sessions of the past few days, my head was spinning. But here are a few whisps of what transpired:

• Warren Buckleitner, host of the event and editor of the Children's Technology Review, kept the group in stitches with his self-deprecating humor. He even dressed in drag at one point, but remained unwavering in his message that interactive media for children must follow the trajectory of their cognitive and motor development.
• Lane Merrifield, co-founder of Club Penquin, took a night out of his 10th anniversary vacation with his wife to talk about how the popular virtual world for kids got started. (For a detailed history, see Scott Traylor's article on his 360Kid blog.)
• Mitch Resnick of M.I.T. introduced Scratch and stressed the need for learning products that stimulate creative thinking.
• I watched an 11-year-old boy at Media Tech, a testing ground/rec center for tech toy play, concentrating fiercely on Frat Boy Beer Pong. (I haven't yet asked if this is a sanctioned activity there.) "Do you know what's in those cups?" I asked. "Beer," he said. He didn't look up.
• I gave a talk about my book and showed some video of my lovely children throwing tantrums when having to deal with the frustrations of some Web games and tech toys.
• A panel of toy evaluators gave a lot of "thumbs down" to current products on the market, while praising some of the new software products that are being developed by small independents.