Jurassic Jumble

Brand: Wentworth Wooden Puzzles

Pieces: 50
Size: 32.9cm x 25cm

Product Code: 910307

I was trying to find a green-themed puzzle because tomorrow is St Patrick's Day and this was the best I could come up with on a moment's notice. This wooden puzzle was gifted to my daughter for Christmas last year but was way too difficult for her (she's only three years old!) so I decided to do it myself haha!

It has a few dinosaur-themed whimsy pieces and was the exceptional quality you'd expect from a Wentworth Wooden Puzzle. The illustration is by Rosiland Solomon, and I'm curious to see what designs might be available from this artist.

Sorry, today's post is just going to be a short and sweet one.

Hope you have a great weekend of puzzling and I'll see you next week!

Jurassic World: Yellow T-Rex

Brand: Crown
Pieces: 300
Size: 60.96cm x 45.72cm
Product Code:  018027

Isn't Jurassic Park one of the best films of all time? I'm talking about the original one from the 90's- starring Sam Neill, Laura Dern and Jeff Goldblum... 

While the sequels were OK and the newest ones starring Chris Pratt aren't too bad, I don't think they're anywhere near as iconic and beloved as the first one to grace the silver screen in 1993.

Unfortunately, I have never found a puzzle to commemorate this fantastic movie so a puzzle for Jurassic World will just have to do. This puzzle was produced by Crown and features everyone's favourite dinosaur- the big, bad T-Rex! (as well as some other scaly friends).

The quality of this puzzle was pretty good for the price- with the pieces fitting together well and bold colours. The design isn't too bad either ;) I have a couple more Jurassic World puzzles from this brand which I also hope to eventually put up, featuring different dinosaurs. Should be a fun exercise!

Dinosaurs

Brand: Eurographics
Pieces: 1000
Size: 48.89cm x 67.63cm
Product Code: 6000-1005

The new Jurassic World film (Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom) was released on Thursday, and while I haven't yet had the chance to see it, I thought I'd put up a puzzle of dinosaurs in tribute to such a fantastic franchise.
I have seen all of them so far (besides the latest) but I'd have to say that my favourite is definitely the first- the others are okay but nothing can compare to the original in my books!

This puzzle by Eurographics was quite interesting to do- it took a little while to piece together anyway! These puzzles always contain so much information and are great educational resources. Considering there are so few dinosaur puzzles of larger counts around (surprisingly), I was happy to find this one. The quality was wonderful and the design was typical Eurographics style.

Fantastic for any fans of dinosaur facts and figures... 

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 😊)

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