Review: The Nautical Puzzle Book for exploring the National Maritime Museum’s treasures
During lockdown 2.0, I settled down on the kitchen table on a Saturday evening, ready to explore one of my favourite areas to visit on a day out in London. I had booked a zoom tour of Greenwich, which seemed to coincide perfectly with an opportunity to review National Maritime Museum’s new book The Nautical Puzzle Book by Dr Gareth Moore (Hodder & Stoughton, £14.99).
While the tour only covered a couple of items from the maritime history collection at National Maritime Museum, it peaked my interest, and had me dive into the unique puzzle book after the session. The hardcover book features more than 100 puzzles by Dr Gareth Moore split into five sections – Signs of the Sea; Shipshape; Culture, Myth and Legend; People and Plans; and Maps.
Each topic is introduced with facts about why the theme is relevant to maritime history, and the puzzles range from crosswords and picture pairs to quiz questions, codes to crack and words to unjumble. All answers are at the end of the sections, and there is detailed imagery throughout.
Overall, The Nautical Puzzle Book feels like a guidebook with a unique and entertaining way for teaching visitors about the interesting collection, which is ideal to explore for families wanting to learn more about the history of sea farers, explorers and trade.
As we’ll be spending a lot of time at home this Christmas, I foresee quizzes being part of the virtual family Christmas event schedule, and The Nautical Puzzle Book could make a wonderful addition to a quiz night. I’ll be sure to test my better half on his knowledge of figureheads, knots and cargo shipping!
Photo credit: @NationalMaritimeMuseum
Related Posts
3 tips for inspiring a love of reading →
Review: Natural History Museum’s Fantastic Beasts exhibition to explore how nature inspires myths and magic →
60+ Christmas gift ideas for boys and girls →
