Dr. Livingston's Anatomy Jigsaw Puzzle the Human Left Arm is part of a seven piece set that once fully assembled will make a 10ft tall human. This is the third of the seven puzzles I will be reviewing. You can read about the first one the right arm here and the second one the head here. This is another amazing item curated from Timberdoodle Co. I received Dr. Livingston's Left Arm Puzzle from Timberdoodle Co in exchange for my fair and honest review. I am not required to give a positive review nor would I recommend a product that I didn't find useful or beneficial. The 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 couldn't wait to start building this puzzle after finishing the Head and the Right Arm. We are studying human anatomy next school year and these anatomy puzzles seem like the perfect addition to our studies. We have not been disappointed. This puzzle is illustrated by Mesa Schumacher whom is a certified medical illustrator and is 100% medically accurate. This would make a magnificent addition to any human anatomy study.
The Box
The box design is very original. It looks like an old leather bound book. It really is nice looking and can be proudly displayed on a shelf. The box is super sturdy. My favorite feature is the magnetic latch. It ensures the box stays closed and no pieces fall out when eager children grab it off the shelf. Once you get the box open you'll see all the things you can learn. Inside of the lid is a picture of what your building with all the parts labeled. It is stunningly detailed and so realistic. My mother in law who is a nurse said it was a better more detailed image than those in her nursing books. All the pieces fit nicely inside the box and that magnetic latch ensures the box stays closed and pieces don't get lost.
The Puzzle Pieces
We were looking forward to putting together the Left Arm to see more anatomy of the arm. The puzzle is nearly 500 pieces and every piece is like a work of art. Usually a puzzle of this size a lot of detail is lost from the image being enlarged. It is not the case for this puzzle. Every piece is large and stunningly detailed. It is so cool seeing the grains of the muscle, the way tendons attach to bone, and the way the veins and arteries run through the arm. It was helpful that the puzzle pieces are so large and with several having very unique shapes. It really helped with assembly. Assembled it measured 52 in long and between 6in at its narrowest and 8in at its widest points. It's about twice the size of it's real human body part.
Putting The Puzzle Together
Like previous puzzles the edges were the easiest spot. Also like the previous puzzles there were a few pieces that were edges that didn't at first sorting look like edge pieces. The small image on the inside of the lid of the box does add a level of challenge in assembly. Especially when it comes to the muscles, tendons, and veins that are in different parts of the arm. We took about 3 days to assemble the puzzle working on it a little at a time. My daughter is 10 and was able to join in on all the fun but I feel a child any younger would probably find it very difficult. The puzzle pieces actually interlock very well which is helpful when we had to move or slide the puzzle around. Make sure you have a large area to assemble this puzzle its huge. We appreciated the size and unique shapes of many of the pieces when it came to areas that were harder to put together like bones and muscles.
Overall
While it was disappointing that the only image you get to assemble is the one inside the lid of the box. It would be nice to have a larger foldable image so you can see the details a little better with so many parts looking similar. I feel this would make assembly a lot easier.
We were however quite pleased with this puzzle. The massive size of this puzzle really lets you see the details of the muscles, tendons, and arteries. It is so realistic looking. No picture in a textbook I've ever seen even comes close to rivaling the detail of this puzzle. I feel this is a perfect companion to anyone studying human anatomy or even medical students could get good use of this puzzle when studying. We give the Dr. Livingston Human Anatomy Puzzle The Human Left Arm two very enthusiastic thumbs up.
If you enjoyed this post and would like to be notified when new content becomes available scroll down and subscribe below.
This blog contains affiliate links from which I may receive a small commission at no additional cost to you.