Puzzle pieces come together in The Invention Rooms, White City

The Community Puzzle Evening brought together White City residents of all ages to enjoy an activity we all love – jigsaw puzzles.

The event was organised by local residents Kevin Nathanial and Adriaan Van Zyl, in collaboration with Hammersmith and Fulham Council's Resident Involvement Team, and hosted at The Invention Rooms at Imperial's new White City Campus.

Local resident Kevin Nathaniel acquired the world's largest commercial puzzle from Ravensburger, a market leader in the European jigsaw puzzle market.

Officially recognised by The Guinness Book of World Records  as the world's largest commercially produced puzzle, it measures 22.3 feet long by 6.2 feet tall and includes a whopping 40,320 pieces. Approximately 600 hours are needed to assemble the masterpiece.

The record-breaking puzzle features 10 memorable scenes from the most popular Disney films of all time, including Snow White and the Seven Dwarves, The Lion King, and Fantasia.

With a little bit of patience and some careful planning, over 60 local residents of all ages worked together over the course of last Friday evening to help piece together two panels from the jigsaw.

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Co-organiser and local resident Adriaan Van Zyl said: "We owe a great deal of thanks to Ravensburger for donating the world's biggest puzzle and Imperial for hosting this event. Through our pilot schemes at Browning and Lancaster Court, and this evening's event at The Invention Rooms, the puzzle project has proven to be an important activity which brings our community together"

Daniel Miller, Resident Involvement & Service Improvement Manager at LBHF, said: "This community puzzle evening forms part of a world-record breaking attempt by residents in the borough. We are looking forward to bringing the record home to Hammersmith and Fulham this year."

Priya Pallan, Community Engagement Officer at Imperial College London, said: "We were pleased to support this community project. The Invention Rooms is a unique space that brings people from all walks of life together, to meet, interact and create - the puzzle evening was exactly that!"

"The best thing about community events like this one is meeting residents who are incredibly passionate and who really care about making a difference locally. It is so inspiring to work with people like Adriaan and Kevin and we look forward to working together on more exciting projects with our White City neighbours in the future."

Record-breaking attempt

Kevin and Adriaan were pleased to mark the event at The Invention Rooms by beginning work on a brand new panel of the puzzle - Fantasia. Imperial's White City Community Engagement Team will be organising a fortnightly coffee puzzle morning to ensure Fantasia's speedy completion, with the aim of engaging different community groups around the new White City Campus. 

With two panels now complete, and two more being worked upon, the puzzle is close to the half-way stage. Potential community groups to work on the remaining panels are now being sought after.

If you would like to find out more about our White City community engagement activities or how to get involved, please email the White City Community Engagement Team on whitecity.community@imperial.ac.uk