WOODEN.CITY Wooden World Map Wall Decor M - Places I've Been Map of the World Wall Art - Made in EU

TIP: The instructions don’t state this anywhere, but when you open this you must remove the wooden side “slats” to release the individual wood panels “inside.” They are tight but pop right off (see photos).I teach Oceanography at the university level and have been on the hunt for a while now for a world map that I could use to demonstrate the principle of continental drift. This set with its separate wood continents looked like it would work, and be sturdy enough for repeated classroom use. I ordered the largest size available at the time which was the XL (31.5” x 47.24”). This was fairly easy to assemble, with each of the main continents in several pieces. The laser cutting (I believe) is excellent, with crisp lines cut cleanly all the way through. Wood glue and stick-on felt backing secured the continents together in the groups I wanted, and they work well enough for sliding around on a classroom table to demonstrate how all those continents might once have emerged from the single large home continent of Pangaea. However, the individual continents were smaller than I expected considering the relatively large measurements given and I do wish I had been able to order the even bigger XXL size — though I might have been even more disappointed in the price, which is my next complaint. For stamped die-cut plywood the price is extravagant. It is advertised as a selling point that you can paint, decorate, or varnish these wood map pieces as desired, but that also means they arrive unvarnished and unfinished which is not a selling point in my book. However, this is clearly intended as a possible educational tool (just like I’m using it), so I do not fault the unfinished product except for the fact that the price might have been lower. My only other complaint was that in some places the wood grain interferes with the map markings, and one piece had a wood plug in it — acceptable for plywood construction material but not for a decorative piece like this (see arrows in photos). However, if you won’t be drifting your continents all around like an Oceanography professor, I do think this will work well as a nice wooden wall map that is paintable and can be embellished. Although this might not be your top bargain this year, I give it a solid 4 stars as a good quality product for what it promises.

A tedious project if you have OCD like myself. I need to perfect everything. But so cool to have. The Medium is very small, I do wish I would have sized up, but I still like it. Looking forward to paint them to show the places I have visited!

My youngest son is really interested in maps, so I thought this would be a good project to decorate his room with. The pieces are precision cut, though a large number immediately fell out upon unwrapping which was irritating. The pieces are completely unfinished and though they can be put on the wall as-is, would not be particularly durable. We decided to paint each piece and mark with places we have visited, which took a lot of time, but was worth the additional effort. It's not as big as I imagined, though that's probably my problem, not the product

This wooden map come as peices to put together. Easy to paint and arrange on the wall. Affordable.I recommend this item

This is a big, huge wooden map. I teach Social Studies, and I am brainstorming ways to use this to help my tactile learners learn about the continents. I might mount these on smaller boards so they can use the shapes to internalize the continents' features. You could put these on a wall but personally I don't think it's pretty enough for wall decor. The pieces are all unfinished and rough, and it doesn't look enough like art to me. Maybe for a classroom it would be nice enough, but not a living room.One thing to note is that there's actually no box for these. They come attached via side pieces, which once you remove are very difficult to put back on. Also the continents fall out of the wooden frame as soon as you take off the plastic wrap. This means that if you plan to open it and do the project later, you're going to need to find some way to store the pieces until you do so. That's a bit annoying; it's like buying a puzzle and then finding that it comes with only the loose pieces.I think this has a lot of potential as a learning tool for teachers, but I'm skeptical about its use as home decoration.

I got the XL map but ultimately should have gotten the XXL size one. I intend to use this as a decorative map wall piece - not for any educational purposes just simply decor. These pieces are all pre-cut so it's easy to map out on thick wood. You'll have to supply your own adhesive/double-sided tape for this. You have the option to color it but I prefer it just plain like the way it's presented and go for the more neutral tone. Some pieces have color variation because it's laser cut and may have bled through but overall, it looks great. You just need to figure out how you want to space the gaps. I wish it came with a spacing template so you can ensure that when laid out on the wall, it's not crooked.

Absolute beautiful map of the world! The kit is all-inclusive and the wood is smoothed and perfectly lasered. My greatest appreciation of this product is the personalization. My school-age daughter loves this world map as we have colored the nations to correlate with the color scheme of her bed room. Now, this is a project, in which we are still coloring some of the nations. However, it can't any more personalized, and we are enjoying quality bonding while working on this map. All whom have seen it remark the uniqueness, and seek to purchase one of their own. Don't pass this one up!!! It is truly an amazing find!!!!