Mission: Pollination!

January 31 - April 30

8:00 am - 5:00 pm

Mission: Pollination!
January 31 – April 30

Included with paid admission or membership
Not a member yet? Join today!

Nature’s superheroes are landing at The Living Desert — and they need your help.

Step into the extraordinary world of pollinators and discover what it takes to keep nature healthy in this interactive, family-friendly adventure.

Are YOU ready to join the mission?
  • First, choose your team — Bloomkeeper, Leafbound, or Shadowcraft — and follow clues throughout the Zoo to find your pollinator teammates.
  • Discover pollinators of epic proportions throughout the park, featuring select climbable elements, interactive moments, and animatronic displays.
  • Solve riddles to uncover how pollinators help grow the food we eat — and so much more!
  • Navigate the Pollinator Playground, an activity-filled maze where you’ll use pollinator-style powers to dodge dastardly dead ends.
  • Unlock a protection power and earn a collectible trading card unique to your team.

As you move from clue to clue, you’ll come eye-to-giant-eye with incredible creatures and experience the world as pollinators do — flying, crawling, and leaping through landscapes filled with challenges. Your mission concludes with a final quest that reveals the super abilities and adaptations pollinators use to help nature thrive and how you can help them.

What Makes Pollinators So Super?

Pollinators are responsible for producing one-third of the food we eat, along with raw materials used in everyday essentials like clothes, cosmetics, and medicine. By traveling from flower to flower in search of nectar, they spread the pollen plants need to reproduce — supporting ecosystems, food systems, and our daily lives. Yet despite their superpowers, pollinators face growing threats from habitat loss and human-made challenges.

That’s where you come in.

Successfully complete your mission to uncover the secrets of these everyday superheroes and learn simple ways you can help protect them. They may be super — but pollinators still need you.

We’ve gotta defend them all!

Frequently Asked Questions: More Events

Mission: Pollination!
January 31 – April 30

Included with paid admission or membership
Not a member yet? Join today!

Nature’s superheroes are landing at The Living Desert — and they need your help.

Step into the extraordinary world of pollinators and discover what it takes to keep nature healthy in this interactive, family-friendly adventure.

Are YOU ready to join the mission?
  • First, choose your team — Bloomkeeper, Leafbound, or Shadowcraft — and follow clues throughout the Zoo to find your pollinator teammates.
  • Discover pollinators of epic proportions throughout the park, featuring select climbable elements, interactive moments, and animatronic displays.
  • Solve riddles to uncover how pollinators help grow the food we eat — and so much more!
  • Navigate the Pollinator Playground, an activity-filled maze where you’ll use pollinator-style powers to dodge dastardly dead ends.
  • Unlock a protection power and earn a collectible trading card unique to your team.

As you move from clue to clue, you’ll come eye-to-giant-eye with incredible creatures and experience the world as pollinators do — flying, crawling, and leaping through landscapes filled with challenges. Your mission concludes with a final quest that reveals the super abilities and adaptations pollinators use to help nature thrive and how you can help them.

What Makes Pollinators So Super?

Pollinators are responsible for producing one-third of the food we eat, along with raw materials used in everyday essentials like clothes, cosmetics, and medicine. By traveling from flower to flower in search of nectar, they spread the pollen plants need to reproduce — supporting ecosystems, food systems, and our daily lives. Yet despite their superpowers, pollinators face growing threats from habitat loss and human-made challenges.

That’s where you come in.

Successfully complete your mission to uncover the secrets of these everyday superheroes and learn simple ways you can help protect them. They may be super — but pollinators still need you.

We’ve gotta defend them all!

FAQ

Frequently Asked Questions:

Do I need a separate ticket?

No! This buzz-worthy event is included in your paid park admission or membership!

How long is this event being offered?

Mission: Pollination! will open to the public on January 31 and will run until April 30!

How does the Mission: Pollination! challenge work?

Begin your Zoo adventure by joining one of three teams:  Bloomkeeper, Leafbound, or Shadowcraft and set off on a pollinator quest! When you find the larger-than-life pollinators, solve riddles to discover why pollinators matter more than you might realize, the challenges they face, and how you can help defend them. Snap a selfie with your pollinator and keep going until you collect them all.

After tracking down the pollinators on your team, make your way to the Pollinator Playground maze. Share what you’ve learned about your team and the importance of pollinators to earn a special edition trading card. Conquer the maze featuring climbable elements and hands-on interactives.

Come back to join the other teams — or collect all the trading cards on one team!

Where can I pick up my special edition trading card?

After successfully tracking down your team of pollinators, navigating to the Pollinator Playground Maze in the middle of the Zoo, and sharing what you have discovered with a member of The Living Desert staff, you will earn a special trading card with a member of your team! Come back and earn trading cards from each of the three teams.

If you complete your mission after 4:30 p.m., visit the Guest Services office for your trading card.

Tell me about the Pollinator Playground maze!

The Pollinator Playground maze is located in the center of the park, near the Trains Exhibit and is open daily from 8:30 a.m. – 4:30 a.m.

Fly, leap, climb or crawl your way through this family-friendly, maze-based exhibition and see what it takes for a pollinator to survive, help the world’s plants thrive and, in the process, feed the world!

A few things to keep in mind for the maze:

  • Take your time—this maze is best enjoyed step by step!
  • Keep an eye out for the panels and move around (not under) them
  • Grown-ups, please explore alongside younger adventurers; some challenges may need a helping hand

Why is this event happening at The Living Desert?

We’re hosting this event to celebrate and support the pollinators that keep our ecosystem thriving. The Living Desert hosts many native pollinators habitats on our grounds and throughout the Coachella Valley to provide food and shelter for monarchs, native insects, and birds.

This event is a fun way for families to learn about these vital species and see how everyone can help protect them!