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Inside Fisher-Price's toymaker lab

February 12, 2013: 5:00 AM ET

From field-research to design to having actual kids test new products - creating a cool new toy is no child's play.

FORTUNE -- Mattel's (MAT) Fisher-Price unit makes products for the most finicky customers around: young kids. Most new toys are unveiled in February at a huge fair in Manhattan. The invention process, however, happens year-round, constantly. Here is how the company created one of its newer offerings, the Servin' Surprises play table:

fisher-price_toys

This story is from the February 25, 2013 issue of Fortune.

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