More than 137,000 children have helped Fisher-Price test and refine toys through their play.
When it comes to a toy manufacturing company, what comes to mind first? Many people sitting together in a large meeting room? Factories and conveyors? Or are designers working at full capacity to come up with the next big toy ideas? At the Fisher-Price Toy Lab in East Aurora, New York, things are a little different.
Explore the Fisher-Price Toy Testing Lab
Picture a bright and cheerful playroom, with a realistic treehouse, a giant red curved slide and children's artwork decorating the walls. Toys are not simply made and shipped to market at Fisher-Price. Instead, they are conceptualized, tested and put through final acceptance in the 60-year-old Fisher-Price Lab (a first in the industry). This is where children and parents can come and experience under the observation, monitoring, evaluation and development of new, attractive toys by experts.
“ Children learn best through real-life experiences,” said Dr. Deborah Weber, Senior Director of Early Child Development Research at Fisher-Price. Our designers consider and study how children play. This really helps us a lot in designing better toys .”
How Fisher-Price Toy Testing creates engaging, educational toys
Research shows that free play and adult-led play help children learn, explore their emotions and encourage them to express themselves. By creating an environment where children could play freely with prototype toys, the researchers obtained valuable feedback on their actions when they did not like them or their feedback on toys. Do the toys attract children's attention? Are the sounds too quiet? Or too noisy? Do the lights overwhelm the children? Do the toys and educational concepts work well together?
A team of Early Child Development experts worked with designers, engineers and musicians to evaluate each toy in detail. Together, they use the latest tools and software, including eye-tracking technology, to see through the eyes of children - experts in testing young toys, experts who cannot yet speak. speech to express their responses and a specialized tool to analyze emotions, measuring facial expressions on babies' faces to determine emotions as they test toys.
A great example of creating new Linkimals toys that cater to the way babies play. Each Linkimals toy will be able to link with other Linkimals characters to guide your baby in counting, they will emit lights and sounds, creating an interactive, role-playing experience while playing and learning. Fisher - Price created the character Calm Mouse, which incorporated simple meditation practices into children's lives, and Play Lab researchers observed children's ability to follow through with exercises. and experimentation with these exercises will be recorded for study.
From ideas that initially seem great, through prototype designs, tweaks and tests, can change dramatically after a child experiences it. More than 450 children's toys are tested each year, with the participation of 2,500 children and 1,850 parents. “ We really go to the smallest detail to create the best toy, to provide a rich play experience for children,” Weber said. The Fisher-Price Play Lab is the heart of Fisher-Price because it's where the magic begins .”
