Climber 101

What is a Luckey Climber?

A Luckey Climber is a safe, interactive, three-dimensional vertical maze that defines public spaces, encourages physical activity, and offers the sort of imaginative play experience that is important for the intellectual development in children. Since 1985, Luckey Climbers have been redefining public spaces and institutions across the world. They are fun attractions for kids of all ages through problem-solving, spatial thinking, balance, social interaction, and cooperation.

Each Luckey Climber is a unique design, crafted of steel pipes. bent plywood or rotationally molded plastic climbing platforms, and thousands and thousands of feet of vinyl coated cable. They are visually elegant works of art, part jungle gym, and once alive with children, become what founder Thomas Luckey called “fountains of children”.

Are Luckey Climbers Safe?

We have held a spotless safety record since the foundation of Luckey LLC in 1985 and apply stringent design constraints and principles to every Luckey Climber we make. From designing, manufacturing, and installing our climbable sculptures we consistently find ways to improve safety.

Our code dictates that there are no falls greater than 18 inches and platforms are placed so that no child can slide down multiple climbing panels. Children engage all of their senses and if you can’t stand up, you can’t fall down.

Each Luckey Climber is encased in thousands of feet of hand woven vinyl coated steel cable to create seamless netting. “The perfect Luckey Climber looks like it fell out of the sky and landed in a fishnet stocking!” R. M. Primer.

We’re always looking for better, more child-friendly materials and do everything we can to make sure all parts are soft to the touch and free of sharp edges. By sticking to our rules to prevent falls, we can be as creative as possible within the constraints.

How are Luckey Climbers Made?

We maintain a 29,000-square foot design and fabrication facility in New Haven, Connecticut. Here, we house our digital design suite, complementary steel fabrication studio, and 5-axis CNC mill used to shape Luckey Climber platforms.

The wooden climbing pads are formed using a vacuum mold then cut into complex curves with a 5-axis CNC machine. Our team of craftsmen then apply a variety of finish styles ranging from laminated photographs of eyes to hand-stained patterns resembling fireworks. For outdoor Climbers, we use rotomolded plastic climbing platforms. Each outdoor color palette is fastidiously curated using the Pantone Matching System, which allows us to maintain accuracy throughout the design process and meet client expectations.

Once fabrication is complete, the Luckey installation team is sent to the job site where out skilled technicians erect the steel structure, secure each individual climbing pad, and hand-weave the netting through the Luckey Climber.

Where Can I Find a Luckey Climber?

Anywhere families congregate, from outdoor parks to shopping centers and malls, zoos and aquariums, schools and children’s museums. We’ve been changing how people us public spaces and transforming them into playgrounds with climbable works of art around the world.

Visit our “Find a Climber” page to discover one nearest you.