Cartoon-style row of houses

CODING FOR A BETTER COMMUNITY:

Work with a team to design an application that makes the world a little better! 

Please bookmark this page to check for upcoming Hackathon dates!

Hackathon General Information

 

If you bring a laptop, an open mindset, creativity, and a lot of enthusiasm, then we'll provide the rest!

Specific topics will be presented by community members the day of the event. Working in a team you'll design, develop, and share your ideas. Professional mentors will be available onsite to help you, as needed. We'll have an exhibit at the end of the day where all teams will showcase their work.

Schedule

Tuesday, March 18, 2025:

  • 9:30am - Check-in
  • 9:45am - Opening talks & forming teams
  • 10:30am - Code start
  • 12:30pm - Lunch
  • 3:00pm - Code stop
  • 3:30pm - Presentations by teams
  • 4:50-5:00pm - Recognition of teams
What you need to bring:

It is recommended that you bring a laptop if you are able. We also recommend that you bring a mouse and a power cord for your laptop. We will have a limited amount of loaner laptops for participants who are not able to bring their own laptop.

 

Hackathon FAQs Frequently Asked Questions

A Hackathon is a marathon where teams of students design and implement software within a very short time-frame.

The participants do not need to have already any technical skills, like programming experience, before the hackathon. Instead, they learn from each other and from mentors at the event.

Teens, aged 13-18 who are currently in middle, junior high, and/or high school can participate.

If you know other students, you can team up already before the Hackathon. But you can also join a team onsite. A team should consist of 2-3 students. Working on your own is strongly discouraged.

That is not a problem. We will get you started. Throughout the entire event, there will be professional mentors to help you code. We will use the Scratch programming platform from MIT that has been designed for youth programmers. If you are familiar with MIT APP Inventor, you may also use this visual programming environment as well. Note that every team needs not only programmers, but also members that design, implement, and promote your team’s app. If you would like to play around in Scratch before the Hackathon, it's free, easy, and fun, and we highly recommend it!

The early registration fee is $20 (+ $3 service charge) per participant. *Note: Early registration is available until 01-28-2024

The regular registration fee is $30 (+ $3 service charge) per participant.

If you would like to participate, but you are not able to pay the registration fee, you can apply for a scholarship to attend the Hackathon for free

At the beginning of the Hackathon, a community leader will introduce an issue in our community that can be tackled through the development of an application using Scratch or MIT App Inventor. You will have to stick with one of the introduced application options and with the required programming platform. Everything else is decided by your team.

If you are under the age of 18, then your parent or guardian will have to register for you. They will need to use the registration button in the banner at the top of this webpage.

2025 Hackathon Location TLC Building

2024 Winners Hackathon

Computing Excellence Award:

Ethan Creel, Alwin Prasanna


Creativity Award:

Tian Hu, Evelyn Qiao, Ray Li

 
Highest Impact Award:

Alaina Dhople, Izak Giese, Jival Patel, Sophia Yang

 

Contact Us

Hackathon Questions? Contact: