Dr. Livingston Anatomy Jigsaw Puzzle: the Human Abdomen is part of a seven puzzle set that fully assembled will make a 10ft tall human replica. This is the fourth of the seven puzzles I will be reviewing. You can read about the first one the human right arm here, the second the human head here, and the third the human left arm here.
This is another creative learning tool curated from Timberdoodle Co. I received the Dr. Livingston Puzzle from Timberdoodle Co in exchange for my honest review. I am under no obligation to post a positive review, nor would I promote or recommend a a product I don't find useful or beneficial. This puzzle is recommended for ages 14 and up. I used this puzzle with my 13 year old rising 8th grader and 10 year old rising 5th grader.
We have been so excited doing these puzzles. We are doing human anatomy for science next school year and these have been such a great asset to their studies. The much larger images were so detailed making it the perfect addition to our studies. The smaller pictures in the science book have nothing on these puzzles. These puzzles are illustrated by Mesa Schumacher whom is a certified medical illustrator and is 100% medically accurate. These puzzles are a wonderful addition to any human anatomy study.
The Box
The box design is super original. The first time my kids saw the boxes they thought they were really thick books. They were excited in the realization that they were puzzles. I loved how sturdy the box was and how nice it looks. I love the magnetic clasps on the side of the box. It helps to assure the box stays closed when grabbed or dropped off a shelf by eager children. This box really is pretty enough to set out on display. Upon opening the box we were blown away by the things we could learn. The picture inside the lid is so detailed. There are so many labels and and things to see and learn. Each time we looked we noticed something new to learn we had overlooked before. My mother in law whom is a nurse was blown away and said this was a better image than many of those in her nursing books. The image in the lid of the box is what you use to help assemble the puzzle.
The Puzzle Pieces
It was exciting putting this puzzle together. The impeccable details on each piece is unrivaled in any puzzle I've ever assembled. In my experience puzzles that reach around or over 500 pieces generally become grainy and the size of the pieces become quite small. That was not the case for this puzzle. Every piece showed great detail and the size of the pieces were nice and large. Seeing all the details of the stomach, intestines, and the arteries was so amazing. It really felt like we were looking at the real thing. The largeness of the pieces helps for the slightly younger siblings or a grandparent who maybe has a harder time seeing smaller details. Assembled the puzzle is 22in wide and almost 25 in long. It's much larger than its real human body part.
Putting The Puzzle Together
This puzzle was probably one of the easiest to find the edge pieces compared to some of the others we've previously completed. The picture inside the lid and the puzzle pieces have great detail. However the picture is quite small especially compared to massive size of the puzzle. It took us a few days to completely assemble working on it a little at a time. My 10 year old was able to help assemble but I feel a child any younger may find it to difficult. These puzzle pieces interlock very well which was nice when having to move the puzzle around so we could work on assembling it and still use the dinning room table. We really appreciated the size and many unique shapes of the puzzle pieces. It was helpful when it came to assembling the puzzle. The unique shapes helped to locate the specific piece needed especially in large areas that are very similar looking like the mesentery in this puzzle.
Overall
The only thing negative I can say about this puzzle is the image you get to help assemble the puzzle is the small one on the inside lid of the box. It would be nice to have a slightly larger image especially for those smaller detailed areas. Something like a poster size image you can fold that fit inside the box. I feel this would greatly benefit the assembly process.
We were however quite pleased with this puzzle. The sheer size really helps bring the anatomy to life. The stomach, intestines, and other organs were breathtaking. No picture in a book can rival this puzzle once completed. I really feel like this is a perfect addition to anyone studying human anatomy. Medical students could also make great use of these puzzles when studying. We give the Dr. Livingston Human Anatomy Puzzle: the Human Abdomen two thumbs up.
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