Dr. Livingston's Human Anatomy Puzzle: the Human Right Leg is part of a seven puzzle set that upon full assembly will make a 10ft tall human replica. This is the seventh and last of the seven puzzles I will be reviewing. You can read my previous reviews on the human right arm here, the human head here, the human left arm here, the human abdomen here, the human thorax here, and the human left leg here.
This is another amazing learning tool curated by those wonderful people at 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 ever promote or recommend a product I don't find useful or beneficial to ours or other families. This puzzle is recommended for ages 14 and up. I used this puzzle with my 13 year old rising 8th grader and my 17 year old rising 12th grader.
We could not wait to start this last set and final piece to our full size human we nicknamed Mr. Body. We start back our new year homeschooling soon and we will be studying human anatomy for science. This puzzle seemed to be a fantastic and fun way to add to our learning adventure. The extra large size and impeccable details really help bring learning to life. The small pictures in science books have nothing on the elaborate details in this puzzle. The puzzle is illustrated by Mesa Schumacher whom is a certified medical illustrator and is 100% medically accurate. This puzzle is a wonderful addition to any human anatomy study.
The Box
The box design is so incredibly original. The box looks like an old leather bound book. I appreciate how sturdy the box is and its magnetic clasps is an added bonus. It really ensures no lost puzzle pieces when the puzzle is grabbed of the shelf by eager young hands. The box really is pretty enough to set out on display. Upon opening the box we were blown away at all the things we would learn. The picture inside the lid is so incredibly detailed. There are so many parts labeled. Every time we looked we saw something we had overlooked previously. My mother in law who is a nurse said the puzzle was more detailed than most of those in her nursing books. The image on the inside lid is what you use to help you assemble the puzzle.
The Puzzle Pieces
Like the previous puzzles the details on the pieces was just impeccable. The paperboard for this puzzle however didn't seem as high quality. Several pieces were bent or the paper board separating almost like they were water damaged. I'm not sure if this was because there were so many pieces in the same size box as compared to most of the other sets. While disappointing that there was damage it didn't effect the assembly. We were still extremely happy with the impressive details and large size of the puzzle pieces. This puzzle was over 800 pieces and no details were compromised with its massive size. The multiple muscles, tendons and veins were utterly lifelike. The large pieces and unique shapes were appreciated when working on the multiple muscle sections. The puzzle was 50 inches long and there was so much going on in this leg. It is so much bigger than its real life body part.
Putting The Puzzle Together
This by far was the hardest puzzle in the set. I had to get up and walk away several times. There are so many muscle sections so that is a lot of red that all looks very similar. I was ready to quit several times. I had never wished harder for a larger image than the one inside the lid to help us assemble this puzzle. It took us several days working bits at a time to assemble this puzzle. My 10 year old was not able to help with this puzzle it was way to hard. I would definitely say that it would be better to stick closer to the recommended age. These pieces did not interlock as well as the other sets. If moved or slid down the puzzle would break apart until more of the puzzle had been assembled. The unique shapes were essential to assembling this puzzle. There are so many sections the exact same color in the top and bottom of the leg. Having something to make it a little easier to find the pieces we needed were so helpful.
Overall
There were only two things I can say negatively about this puzzle. First the image you get to help assist in assembling the puzzle is quite small. Especially when you compare the size of the box to the completed puzzle. I would love for a larger poster size image that could be folded up and stored in the box. I really feel a larger image would benefit in the assembly process. Second the paperboard for this puzzle did not seem as high quality as some of the other puzzles. It is the pieces themselves I am referring to not the details or images on the pieces. We were still very pleased with this puzzle. The large size truly brings human anatomy to life. The tendons, bones, and multi muscle sections are incredibly life like. No picture in a textbook can even come close to how amazing this puzzle looks like completed. It truly is a piece of art. I feel that this puzzle is a wonderful asset to anyone studying human anatomy. Even medical students could make great use of seeing the images magnified in this way so you can see every detail. We give the Dr. Livingston's Human Anatomy puzzles: The Human Right Leg two enthusiastic thumbs up.
If you enjoyed this post and would like to be notified when new content become 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.