Cal Poly Universities Win 2026 Sweepstakes Award for ‘Jungle Jumpstart’ Rose Parade Float
Cal Poly Universities’ Rose Float, “Jungle Jumpstart” won the 2026 Sweepstakes Award, the top award of the 137th Rose Parade.
This is the first time that students have won the Sweepstakes Award, which is awarded to the most beautiful entry encompassing float design, floral presentation and entertainment. “Jungle Jumpstart” marks the 77th Rose Float that Cal Poly Pomona and Cal Poly San Luis Obispo students have designed and built since 1949.
“We’ve been out here since 10 a.m. yesterday and have not been dry since 10 a.m. yesterday. But none of that matters right now,” said Driver and Construction Chair Sean Hanna on a rainy New Year’s morning.
“This is the first time Cal Poly has ever done it. We’re still in shock. I’m just so proud of this team and everything we’ve accomplished this year.”
Working in wet conditions and parading on a rainy Jan. 1 added a special touch to the jungle scene.
“It’s so bright and turned out so much better than the rendering. The rain adds an extra element of animation to the rainforest,” said Bailey Beene, a landscape architecture senior and Deco Chair for the Cal Poly Pomona team.
“The rain adds the realistic rainforest vibes and makes the robot’s eyes more bright,” said Haley Kost, plant science student and Deco Chair at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo.
To capture the parade’s theme, “The Magic in Teamwork” the float highlights the dynamics between nature and technology through the story of the rainforest community coming together to restore a robot friend utilizing what they know best — the jungle. The frog, monkey, giant jaguar, lemurs and a toucan use their different skills work to together in harmony to demonstrate what’s possible when nature and technology combine efforts.
This year’s float used a wide variety of materials to capture the mystery of the rainforest. Carnivorous plants, Alstroemeria and Liatris were used to give the float splashes of vivid tropical colors.
The 40-foot-long robot, named Lunchbox, was decorated with a blend of Blue Corn Grits and Dusty Miller accented with patches of High Magic Roses that echo the jungle’s lush palette of greens, reds and yellows. Lunchbox lifts up a macaw 25 feet into the air, helping it take flight.
The process of designing and building the float takes nearly a year and involves building, adjusting and fine-tuning the mechanical, drive and animation systems; welding the structural supports and shaping the design elements; testing decorative material; sheeting and foaming before the students can begin adding final design elements.
Cal Poly Pomona traditionally builds the front half of the float base (known as the pod), while students at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo build the back. Design elements are shaped by both teams, and they join the two halves in Pomona in the fall. Students continue to build the float throughout the fall semester while balancing their studies and completing final exams until it is ready to join other float entries to be evaluated by Rose Parade judges on Dec. 31. The 2026 Sweepstakes Award is the 64th award for the Cal Poly Universities’ Rose Float team.
View past Rose Float entries and awards at www.rosefloat.org.
