Building 64: Rose Float Laboratory

North of Agricultural Engineering Tractor Shop (Bldg. 47).

• For seven decades, students from Cal Poly Pomona have designed, built and decorated fabulous floats for the Pasadena Tournament of Roses Parade, now televised in multiple languages to millions of viewers around the world.
• The journey began in 1949, when student Don Miller spearheaded the construction of the first float in 90 days. Today, this unique, learn-by-doing program is one of the finest examples of our polytechnic mission, one that highlights the creativity, versatility and the skills of our students.
• Partnering with students from Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, the Rose Float team creates fantastic floats, beginning with a unique design concept and carried through construction and decoration with thousands of flowers. Throughout the process, hundreds of students have the opportunity to advance their team-building and problem-solving skills, learn floral design or computer-controlled animation, while others acquire skills in engineering, welding, engine maintenance, marketing, hydraulics and much, much more.
• Competing against professional float designers, the university Rose Float team has won 58 awards over the years, including 10 Founder’s Trophies for the most beautiful float built and decorated by volunteers, and eight Princess Trophies.
• Cal Poly’s Rose Float program has been a leader in innovation, being the first to use hydraulics to power innovation (1968), the first to use computer-controlled animation (1978) and the first to use fiber optics (1988).