Cal Poly just released its next Rose Parade float design. Get a sneak peek here
Cal Poly has a new float design for Pasadena’s iconic Rose Parade.
This year’s float depicts various jungle creatures — including a frog, monkey, jaguar, lemur and colorful tropical birds — using their unique skills to fix a massive, broken-down robot.
The float, titled “Jungle Jumpstart,” is meant to convey a symbiotic relationship between nature and technology, a Cal Poly news release said.
The concept is the latest iteration of Cal Poly’s annual entry to the Rose Parade. The San Luis Obispo and Pomona campuses are once again teaming up to plan and construct the float.
This marks Cal Poly’s 77th Rose Parade entry, the release said.
Last year’s Scotland-inspired float won a spirit award at the 2025 parade. The universities’ previous entries have earned a total of 63 awards, Cal Poly said.
Cal Poly releases new float design for 2026 Rose Parade
Cal Poly student Aubrey Goings, who is leading the SLO campus’ Rose Parade team, described the float as a reflection of the students working to bring it to life.
“Our team is extremely excited to share our parade float!” Goings said in the release. “It is more than just a story; it is a mirror of us, as Cal Poly university students who combine innovation, creativity and problem-solving in the classrooms and labs in our day-to-day lives. We use agriculture, engineering and other disciplines in tandem.”
Students hope the collaborative nature of the float — both in its message and its construction — will inspire audiences watching the parade. This also aligns with the parade’s 2026 theme: “The Magic in Teamwork.”
“Our jungle engineers — a frog, a monkey, a jaguar and lemurs — work around the robot to bring it back to life,” Goings said. “They even incorporate fallen branches and plants into their repairs, symbolizing their acceptance of the robot into their ecosystem. A toucan, standing proudly atop a tree stump, is focused on the antenna of the robot, while also making sure everything below is going smoothly.”
She continued: “With some inspiring teamwork, the robot flickers alive. In thanks, the robot lifts a vibrant macaw skyward, helping it take flight.”
The animals also make use of the robot’s spare parts, integrating them into the fabric of the rainforest. Plants can be seen growing through the robot’s open chest cavity, while birds use other objects to build their nests, the release said.
As for the construction of the float itself, students are working to develop technology to move float parts weighing 2,000 pounds, the release said. The robot will measure around 40 feet in length, while a vibrant macaw will be decorated with individual flower petals while moving 25 feet in the air.
In characteristic Rose Parade style, the float will be decorated with an array of live plants.
According to the release, students will color the float with carnivorous plants, lilies and blazing star flowers. Patches of roses will bring vibrant greens, reds and yellows to the float, while a mix of ground blue corn and silver ragwort will be used to convey the float’s gray tones.
One student said this year’s float would stand out against previous designs.
“I think this is going to be the most thematically beautiful float that we have done within the last four years,” Cal Poly student and assistant design chair RJ Pollock said in the release. “From the story we are trying to tell, to the elements, to the passion, the creativity, and colors, I think this will be one of the most visibly stunning floats in our program.”
Audiences can see the float in action during the Rose Parade on Jan. 1, 2026.
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