No Tricks and All Treats with our Halloween Climbing Activities

Halloween is a fun holiday for many children. Adding themed activities to your climbing wall will not only be fun but is a great way to introduce new experiences and challenges. We have compiled our favorite Halloween games for you to try on your Traverse Wall®.

PICK THE PUMPKINS

Participants climb to pick pumpkins and toss them into harvest hoops, using climbing and tossing skills.  

Grade Level: 1 and up

Grouping: Individual/whole group

Materials:

• Plush or plastic pumpkins or orange bean bags, several per panel
• Hoops, one per panel

Advance Set Up: 

Place pumpkins on hand holds across the climbing wall, high and low, several per panel. Place one harvest basket on each mat section 12-24 inches from the climbing wall.

Activity:

Climbers climb and stop (while remaining on the climbing wall) to pick one pumpkin to toss into each of the harvest hoops. The goal is for the pumpkin to land in the hoop.

Note: Pumpkins will need to be periodically replaced on the climbing wall, either by the supervisor or by the climbers, depending on their ages.

Teaching Tip: To increase the challenge, place bean bags higher and/or lower on the climbing wall. You can also use smaller hoops and/or place them farther from the climbing wall.

AVOID THE SPIDER

Climbers are challenged to avoid several large spider webs and spiders on the climbing wall.

Grade Level: 2 and up

Grouping: Individual/whole group

Materials: 

• Artificial spider webs, string or bungee cords to create webs
• Plastic or paper spiders

Advance Prep: Use artificial spider webs, string or bungee cords to create spider webs by wrapping them over and around the hand holds in several areas. Place a spider in each web. Climbers will be unable to access holds in the webs, so keep safety in mind as you space the webs so that there are clear opportunities for climbers to climb over, under and around the webs to get from one side of the climbing wall to the other.

Activity: This activity brings some new challenges to the climbing wall by “eliminating” some of the holds from use by climbers. As they climb, climbers must abide by these rules:

• The climber’s feet or hands cannot touch any part of a web (border and interior space).
• Regular climbing wall safety rules still apply:
• Climbers must keep their feet below the Red-Relief® Line or predetermined maximum height.
• Climbers may not climb over, under or around another climber.
• Climbers should climb down when ending their climb – no jumping.
• Climbers should quickly leave the mats when finished climbing.
• If climbers break any rules, they must return to the starting point and try again.

Teaching Tip: Encourage participants to climb more slowly than usual since this activity requires additional problem solving and possibly new body positioning.

MYSTERY MOVES

Climbers move spiders and pumpkins on the climbing wall, putting their strength and flexibility to the test. This activity also requires good listening and problem-solving skills.

Grade Level: 2 and up

Grouping: Partners

Materials: 

• Mystery Moves cards
• Small plush or plastic pumpkins or orange bean bags, one per partnership
• Small plastic spiders or black bean bags, one per partnership

Advance Prep: Print a set of cards for each partnership. Have card sets, spiders and pumpkins available for partners to get one of each before the activity begins.

Activity:

Each partnership will use one 4-foot-wide panel and mat section. If you have a 40-foot-long climbing wall, then 20 participants can play at one time, with partnerships spread out along the length of the wall.

To begin, the partners should get one card set, one spider and one pumpkin. They should place the spider and pumpkin on two different hand holds on their 4-foot-wide panel section. Next, the younger partner will be on the climbing wall first, using only that one panel. The other partner will be at the edge of the safety mat and will pull a card from the card deck and will let the climber know what move to make. For example, move the spider to a low red hand hold. If the spider or pumpkin is already on a hold like that, the climber must find another hold of that color and location. If the climber is unable to make the move (for example, the hold is out of reach), they should try a different move.  After 10 successful moves, partners switch roles.

Variations:

• Number each climbing wall panel and have participants try new panels. Each panel offers a unique experience because hand holds are different and in different locations on each panel. Try them all!
• Instead of partners, this activity could be conducted with one person calling the spider/pumpkin moves for all climbers on the wall. Still keep climbers on one panel and then rotate them through other panels after 10 successful moves.

JACK-O’-LANTERN BEAN BAG TOSS

A festive fall challenge in which climbers toss bean bags into jack-o’-lantern targets.

Grade Level: K and up

Materials:

• Bean bags (several per climbing wall panel)
• Plastic or fabric jack-o’-lanterns or buckets decorated to look like jack-o’-lanterns (one per climbing wall panel)

Advance Set Up: Place bean bags on the hand holds on the climbing wall. There should be several per panel. Place one jack-o’-lantern in front of each climbing panel, but far enough away to prevent someone falling on it and also to create enough challenge. Age and abilities of climbers will also factor into the placement of jack-o’-lanterns.

Activity:

Have participants begin climbing, with one person on each panel. Remaining participants form a line and begin climbing when the first person has reached the second panel. As participants climb, they remove one bean bag per climbing panel and toss into jack-o’-lantern. When they reach the final panel, they climb down, step off mats and rejoin climbers and continue the activity.

Note: Bean bags will need to be periodically replaced on the climbing wall, either by the supervisor or by the climbers, depending on their ages.

MIDNIGHT CLIMB

A creepy climb where participants traverse the climbing wall in the dark.

Grade Level: 4 and up

Materials:

• Head lamps, one per climber
• Glow-in-the-dark decorations, optional

Advance Set Up: Hang decorations (optional). Source headlamps. Distribute headlamps and instruct participants on how to use them. Ask participants to climb with extra care given the change in lighting. Remind them to maintain at least an arm’s length of space between other climbers and to stop or slow down if the climber in front of them stops or slows down. They should also use extra care while walking in the gym and when getting on/coming off the safety mats to avoid tripping.

Activity:

Start climbers one at a time from the first panel of the climbing wall. Remaining participants form a line and begin climbing when the first person has reached the second panel. The challenge is to make it across the entire Traverse Wall® without stepping down. Upon completion, have climbers repeat the climb.

SPOOKY SCAVENGER HUNT

What spooky things are hiding on the climbing wall? Climbers are challenged to find out!

Grade Level: K and up

Materials:

• A variety of spooky items such as plastic spiders, rats, snakes, ghosts, etc.
• Halloween decorations, optional
• Climbers in costumes (that allow them to climb safely), optional

Advance Set Up: Place spooky items on the hand holds on the climbing wall. There should be several per panel, high and low. Hang Halloween decorations, optional. Have climbers come in costume, optional.

Activity:

Before they climb, let climbers know that there are spooky things hiding on the climbing wall. Challenge them to find as many as possible. Have them look, but not touch or remove them. For older children, you can challenge them to find a specific number of things. For example, “Try to find the 10 hiding spiders and 6 hiding ghosts.” Or you can have them keep a mental tally of how many things they find.