Dog Lover's

Brand: Ridley's Jigsaw Puzzles

Pieces: 1000
Size: 55cm x 70cm
Product Code:  JIG033

During the week it was International Dog Day (August 26) so I thought I'd put up this illustrated guide to dog breeds. Produced by Ridley's Jigsaw Puzzles, it shows a variety of breeds and explains about their origins/temperaments in a beautifully illustrated design. There is also a cat version, which I may put up one day (maybe if there's a day dedicated to cats?)

This puzzle was fun to do but I wasn't terribly impressed with the quality. This brand, from my experience, always seems to have the design peel back from the pieces, which can be quite frustrating and detracts from the overall quality and enjoyment of the puzzle. This puzzle also comes in tubed packaging, rather than your standard box and has a reference poster to help you put it together. 

Other than that, the puzzle is not too bad (at least the design is good) and it hasn't stopped me from purchasing other designs by them. I'm hoping someday I'll get a good quality one!

The Periodic Table Of The Elements

 

Brand: Eurographics

Pieces: 1000

Size: 48.89cm x 67.63cm
Product Code:  6000-1001

In Australia at the moment, we're celebrating National Science Week (well we're towards the end of it anyway) so I thought it would be fitting to put up this puzzle for today (since I already put up Little Scientists a few weeks back).

What better representation of science than the periodic table of the elements! I remember learning the first 20 symbols and elements off by heart when I was at school and studying Chemistry, and I still haven't forgotten them! 

This puzzle from Eurographics was quite easy to do when you separated each of the elements by colour and was very informative once completed. I love puzzles like these where they also have an educational aspect. The quality was perfect - I've only ever had one Eurographics puzzle where the quality was poor- and the colours are vibrant. 

How many of the elements do you recognise?

Little Scientist

Brand: Mudpuppy
Pieces: 500
Size: 51cm x 51cm
Product Code:  -

How cute is this puzzle? 

If you have little ones who are interested in learning about famous scientists throughout history (or if you're a big kid like me who also wants to learn and appreciates cute imagery) then this puzzle is the perfect tool!

The design is cute, bright and accessible and highlights 16 influential scientists- both male and female- their fields and their achievements (obviously in a very basic way). The design entices the puzzle-doer to go out and further research the person and what they have achieved. While their names aren't featured on the puzzle image, they are provided in the box on a foldout poster. 

This puzzle was quick and fun to do and there are others of a similar style in the series. I feel like this is one I'll have to collect all of! 

Flags Of The World

Brand: Eurographics
Pieces: 1000
Size: 48.89cm x 67.63cm
Product Code: 6000-0128

Over the last week, we in Australia have been lucky enough to have some English royalty gracing our shores- Prince Harry and his beautiful wife Meghan, who have travelled here to see some of the best that the country has to offer. 

They were also here for the Invictus Games- an international sporting event that was created by the Prince for wounded, injured or sick armed services personnel and veterans. This year the event was held in Sydney from 20-27 October. 

I decided to post this puzzle featuring the flags of the world to commemorate this inspiring event, While many of these countries didn't actually have representatives at the Games, some of them did, and some of them have fought alongside or for some of the countries whose flags appear in the above puzzle. 

Produced by Eurographics, this puzzle was fairly easy to do (although some of the flags were similar) and quite educational. Each country's name is listed under its flag, as well as the population, the size of the country in square kilometres and the capital city. 

For some reason, I've always been interested in flags, maps and the like, so this puzzle went down a treat, as it would for anyone else who likes this sort of thing.

Dinosaurs

Brand: Hinkler Puzzlebilities
Pieces: 500
Size: 91.4cm x 60.9cm
Product Code:  HB22_FEB16_04

I can't tell you how excited I am for today!

I have always enjoyed Jurassic Park, the 1993 film directed by Steven Spielberg, which stars Sam Neill and Laura Dern. With one of the most recognisable musical scores, and that iconic Jurassic Park logo, the film has a permanent place in my list of favourites. I even enjoyed most of the sequels (including Jurassic World which was released a few years ago). 

But my enjoyment of the movie will be taken to new heights today when I head up to Melbourne to see a special representation of the film. The Melbourne Symphony Orchestra (MSO) will be performing the soundtrack to this film live at Hamer Hall (in the  Arts Centre). 

As the film plays, the orchestra perform all the musical pieces as they would occur in the film. You'd be amazed at just how much music is composed for films- most of the time, we just hear it in the background and don't think about all the effort involved in composing, playing and performing the soundtrack. 

I attended the MSO's Raiders of the Lost Ark performance last year and it was simply incredible! Sometimes I would become so engrossed in the story that I would be startled to hear the audience clapping around me. Then I would remember that the music I was hearing was actually being performed live in front of me and was not actually 'coming from' the film. The musicians are so incredibly talented, and if you ever get the chance to attend one of these events, you should definitely take it, as you won't be disappointed! 

In my excitement for this performance, I decided to do a puzzle featuring dinosaurs (including some from the Jurassic period!). This puzzle was very quick to do, and has particularly large pieces (made of thin, cheap cardboard), but it is also very educational and has a well set out design.

There are over 25 dinosaurs featured in this puzzle, with the name, pronounciation, origin, size, eating habits (carnivore, herbivore, etc) and years it was around listed underneath each image. The pictures of each dinosaur are set against one another so that you can see the size difference between each type, and there is even a human on the end of each line so you can see the scale of just how big (or small) they were in comparison to us. 

While the piece quality isn't terribly great, this is otherwise a great educational tool and a must for lovers of dinosaurs! (...or films that feature them 😊)

Close up 1

Close up 2

Close up 3

  

The Muscular System

Brand: Eurographics
Pieces: 1000
Size: 48.89cm x 67.63cm
Product Code:  6000-2015

Every now and then I like to deviate from my usual tendency to do jigsaw puzzles of pretty or bright images, and go, instead, for something a little more educational. 

I recently had one of those moments, and decided to do a puzzle that explores the human body's muscular system, as depicted above. Featuring imagery of the human body, each important muscle is pointed out and named, making this a worthy educational tool for somebody studying human anatomy. There are also sections in the design where close-ups are revealed and more details are given about particular muscular groups, especially those in smaller body areas, like your hands, or around your head and neck. 

Closeup of the face and neck muscular system

This puzzle contains a lot of useful muscular information

Closeup of the muscles of the hand

This puzzle was somewhat of a challenge, mostly because I was unfamiliar with many of the muscle names, and where they are found in the body. Also adding to the challenge were the unusually shaped pieces (which are particular to the Eurographics brand), and the fact that there were a lot of white spaces where there were no distinguishing characteristics to tell where they belonged. After I had completed the main imagery, it was pretty much a game of trial and error to find where the rest of the pieces went!

Despite this, The Muscular System was an enjoyable puzzle to do, and I'm sure I will do many others from Eurographics' educational range in the near future. 

This puzzle is available from Fishpond by clicking the link below:


Muscular System 1000-Piece Puzzle