Geodesic Dome Climbing Frames for Little Kids and Big Kids

Our geodesic climbing frames have the best outdoor play purchases that we've made for our children. You might wonder why I'm writing about climbing frames on Tech Age Kids. Well there are a few reasons:

1. Balance. We love technology but we also think it's important for kids to have balance. Having a cool climbing frame in the garden has meant that my kids rarely need encouragement to spend time away from their screens.
2. Geodesic domes are an awesome piece of engineering. Buckminster Fuller designed the original geodesic domes to be very strong for their weight. They are really efficient structures. They're brilliant inspiration. And very handy to have around when you want to build your own geodesic dome from drinking straws. 
3. They make a great frame for den building. Den building is a fantastic activity for kids which combines designs and engineering and is lots of fun. 

Our climbing frame gets uses all year round but it really comes into its own when the weather is good. My Minecraft obsessed kids are currently happily playing in the garden - the climbing frame acts as the base in their games.

When my older son was a toddler we got a small Monkey Bars geodesic dome climbing frame kit which was fantastic.

Once my kids reached the ages of 7 and 8 they were still using their climbing frame loads but were getting much too big for it, especially when they had friends round to play!

We wondering if they were getting too old for it to be worth investing in a new climbing frame. But then we found a really sturdy and massive climbing frame which also has a geodesic design: the Lifetime Geometric Dome Climber.

If you're looking for a Christmas or birthday gift, or just an idea to encourage kids to have some screen free time then we'd definitely recommend one of these climbing frames.

Monkey Bars Climbing Frame for Little Kids

Toy Monster Monkey Bars Tower
? @ Amazon

We got this climbing frame when my older so was a toddler. His little brother learnt to walk by holding on to it.

It's perfect for toddlers and preschoolers. Once kids get a bit more adventurous they can climb up to the tower part on the top.

This climbing frame was also used as the structure for lots of den-building activities.

And as you can see, it's great for swinging from!

Lifetime Geometric Climbing Frame for Big Kids

This is the climbing frame my kids currently have. It's really big and I expect them to still be playing on it for several years. A lot of climbing frames are only really suitable for little kids. But my kids don't want to stop climbing now they are 7 and 9. They spend hours on their climbing frame, climbing, hanging, swinging and making dens. 

Lifetime Geometric Dome Climber Play Center, Earthtone
? @ Amazon

The Lifetime Geodesic climbing frame went together really easy. Ideally you'll want two people for some of the steps just because it's so big and you need an extra pair of hands to hold things steady.

My older son really likes that the joints have proper climbing footholds on them (just like you would find on an indoor climbing wall.)

This climbing frame is always popular when my children have friends round to play and parents often ask about it too.

Image Source: Wikipedia