Headu Human Body Under X-Ray Review

Reviewed by Deborah Banasko

My children are fascinated by the human body; they love the kid’s medical TV shows and have various models, books and toys. However we have never seen a human body jigsaw that reveals hidden features and labels under a magic light. Voila the Headu Human Body Under X-Ray!

This is such an unusual and random idea which is why we were instantly drawn to it. It is targeted at my almost 7 year old son and 10 year old daughter as the recommended age is 6-10.

I haven’t come across any toys from Headu before, but a quick internet search found that they make some amazing puzzles and games for all ages with an educational focus, grouped into the different themes or skills being tested. There is a breakdown for the “intelligences” involved in each game or puzzle, which is so helpful if your child likes a particular type of toy (you can look at those with that particular focus by clicking on the icon for that skill). Alternatively if you feel a particular area is a weakness for your child and you want to encourage learning in a positive way then the website will assist you in finding the right game or puzzle for that skill. The recommended ages are displayed beside each item at a glance, so it’s a really easy website to navigate.

The Human Body under X-Ray comes in a sturdy box which displays the contents on the cover really well, and catches the eye of any child who loves Biology and Human Anatomy.

Inside the box are the 84 piece jigsaw puzzle, 10 double sided mission cards, an erasable pen and the magic torch. The magic torch requires three AAA batteries (not included). What I did feel is that perhaps the contents could be a little more organised. I am conflicted when I say this as it’s good to reduce the amount of packaging, and thank goodness they don’t use a plastic bag to keep the jigsaw pieces in. I just feel that a small box or even a band to keep the mission cards together would have looked more presentable, as everything looks a little bit “thrown in”, which is a shame for such a cool toy. There also isn’t a cloth with which to removed the erasable pen ink; tissues are fine obviously but this is just a small point regarding attention to detail.

The idea of the activity is to fit the jigsaw pieces together and study the human body that is depicted by the pieces. The graphics are clear and the jigsaw is a good size to depict the different body parts. The jigsaw is split into two sections showing the organs of the boy character and the skeleton and bones of the girl, allowing you to see the systems, functions, and vital organs. This makes it great to do with a friend or parent as you can complete one section each.

Then comes the really cool part; you use the magic torch to reveal hidden features such as the ribs and brain, as well as labels such as the larynx. There are a lot of details to uncover! The mission cards have specific body parts which you must locate and “tick off” as you find them.

I acknowledge to the detail on the back of the jigsaw pieces which depicts body cells. I think doing the jigsaw from this orientation would be impossible but who knows!

The jigsaw pieces are good quality. You can create two levels of difficulty where you construct it with the use of the picture on the box or without. It isn’t an easy jigsaw so it is something that I expect my children to keep coming back to. You could also locate the body parts without the torch once you are familiar with the jigsaw, then check if you are correct later.

My 7 year old found the jigsaw fun to build and quite a challenge when using the box picture, it took him perhaps 20-25 minutes. My 10 year old built it up without looking at the box and this really made her think about the science as it was quite tricky. Whilst I agree with the target age range, I also think that an older child would benefit from this type of kinaesthetic learning, depending upon whether they are willing to do a jigsaw.

My kids love secret message toys so this was an instant hit! I actually was a little mean and only told them about it once they’d finished the jigsaw, so there were gasps of excitement. Talk about making learning fun!

I love the fact that nothing was “dumbed down” and the correct terminology was used, which is perfect for my 10 year old budding Doctor! Some of the words are tricky for the younger end of the target age range but this is a good introduction to help them become familiar with the names of body parts, and why not start them early. The missions really helped to keep them interested otherwise the labels would have been ignored, so it is a great concept and a novel way to learn without realising.

The labels led onto conversations about what the individual body parts actually do which makes this a fantastic educational tool. I think a great addition to this toy would be an information leaflet or cards for those children who want to go a little deeper with their learning; perhaps just a line or two explaining what each of the mission card body parts actually does. I think that learning happens better when a child can link a name to a function as well as the location, so that everything comes together and makes sense. I come from a Biology background and for me this little extra would boost the game to 5 stars.

The RRP of £21.77 seems fairly reasonable to me as this isn’t a normal jigsaw; there is a lot of detail and game play so from an entertainment and educational perspective it is worth the money.

I intend to look through the Headu website in more detail as I wouldn’t hesitate to purchase another of their products. The quality is amazing and I love the originality in the design. I would award the Headu Human Body Under X-Ray 4.5 stars out of 5.

Rating: 4.5/5 stars

RRP: £21.77

This product can be purchased from Amazon here.
For more information please see the Headu website here.