Melissa & Doug USA Map Sound Puzzle - Wooden Puzzle With Sound Effects (40 pcs)

This was purchased as a birthday gift for our 5 year old grandson. A great way to learn about geography, the states, their capitals and main attraction. He and his parents travel frequently, and this puzzle gives him a better understanding of where these locations are in relationship to each other. Highly recommended.

Great toy to get your kids of videos

Bought as birthday gift for 4 year old twins. They really enjoy it.

This puzzle is everything I hoped it would be. The sound function is great. Works really well for how many pieces there are! One thing to know: it doesn’t function perfectly in low light, so if it seems like it’s broken, don’t despair, just move to a sunnier spot. My kids are fond of this puzzle and have learned a lot more from it than the regular floor puzzle map that we have.

My four year old loves puzzles. This one is no exception. I thought the idea of a sound puzzle which named the states and capitals as he completed it would make is educational as well as fun. The problem is that the sensors which set off the sound are extremely sensitive. Today just the shadow of my face as I sat next to him while he worked the puzzle set off a sensor. It got to the point that he would patiently wait while the puzzle listed off two or three other states before he'd finally put the piece in and have the board say the correct name for the piece he placed. So he isn't always hearing the correct name for the state he's putting in. Also some of the tinier states are on the same piece, so the puzzle says the two or three states and capitals for the one piece, which is fine for an older child, but tends to confuse him. The puzzle overall is well made and a nice wooden product. I just wish the sensors were set off by weight instead of light or something.

My daughter is two and a half and I knew she was too young for this puzzle when I purchased it. She has several other talking Melissa and Doug puzzles that she loves - and they helped her learn her letters and numbers very quickly.. so I decided a states/capitals puzzle certainly couldn't hurt her. She's had it for a few months now and plays with it at least once a week, and knows most of the states names and where they go on the map. I think capitols will be learned further down the road.The one complaint I have is that sometimes the sensors don't cooperate and the puzzle doesn't say the state and capital when she puts the piece in place. This frustrates her and she then tells me it's broken or needs new batteries when that's not the case. It's an intermittent issue and I've experienced it with the other talking puzzles they make, so I'm not too worried and it hasn't stopped me from buying more puzzles.

Even though this puzzle is intended for children, it has another use. My blind mother wished she could remember the placement of all of the states. She said "If only they made a puzzle-like product that had all of the states which would talk when you pressed each state." I searched and searched through all the catalogs of products made for visually impared people and found nothing. Then a friend showed me the Melissa & Doug USA Map Sound Puzzle she had bought for a child. Wow! This was exactly what I was looking for.My mom found the puzzle easy to use and has spent hours with it. The voice is loud and clear. So far, she has been able to remove each piece, listen to the information, and replace it without getting "lost". The only negatives for this kind of use is that the intended use is to take all the pieces out, then put them back one-by-one. For a blind person, you have to take each piece out separately and put it back before taking the next piece out. Getting an inland state out can be a bit difficult. Also, some of the smaller states are grouped into one piece, so a blind person only can tell that the states are grouped, but can't tell how they relate geographically to each other.For its intended use as a child's puzzle, it would work fine. Just make sure your child is over the age where he or she would try to swallow a piece. They are small and can be a choking hazard.

The media could not be loaded. I love the idea of this puzzle, but some sensors don't register every time like they should and some are so sensitive they're set off by a hand passing over them on your way to place a different state piece. If your kids already know their states this could be helpful just for memorizing capitals.