8 Best Hackathons for Middle School Students
If you are a student interested in computer science or tech related fields, developing both theoretical knowledge and practical real-world skills is crucial and it’s never too early to start, even in middle school. Participating in a hackathon is one way to go about this and still have fun!
What is a hackathon and can middle school students participate?
Hackathons are competitions that challenge participants to code and collaborate on projects within a limited timeframe. They are known for their intensive nature with the entire process of brainstorming and presenting being done within the span of a day or a weekend.
While most hackathons are open to high school students (and other young adults), there are hackathons that are coming up for middle school students. Most of these are not only for middle school students and will also be open to high school students (and in some cases, university students and adults). It is important to note that given the age range and levels of experience hackathons cater to, you might need to be familiar with certain concepts and programming languages before you take part in one.
How did we select these hackathons?
While picking hackathons that are best suited for middle school students, we considered a few key factors, like:
- Cost of Program: We focused on hackathons that are free or had low costs associated with them, and thus accessible to a wide range of students.
- Difficulty Level: Our chosen hackathons offer a mix of difficulty levels, catering to beginners and more advanced coders alike.
- Prestige Level: We prioritized hackathons associated with esteemed institutions like Ivy League universities, seeing as they can offer a significant boost to a student's resume.
Here are our top 8 picks of hackathons for middle school students!
Application deadline: Registration stays open until the opening ceremony of the program
Eligibility: All middle and high school students (international students can apply as well)
Program dates: July (tentatively, based on previous years)21, 2023 – July 23, 2023
Location: Online
Cost: Free
Awards: Up to $1,000 in cash as well as prizes like AirPods and Amazon Echo
Coding experience required: All levels can participate (beginners have access to workshops to help them get started)
Students who cannot travel to in-person programs can consider fully virtual hackathons such as this one. STEMist Hacks 2.0 is a student-run hackathon that offers a high level of flexibility — you can work individually or with a team and you do not need to limit yourself to a specific theme. This means you have the freedom to work on any coding project irrespective of the field whether it is a physical product or software application. Your work will be judged on its technical proficiency, creativity, and the ability to solve problems effectively. The 2022 edition of the competition had over 140 participants from 20+ countries.
2. Duke University’s ODE Design Hackathon
Application deadline: TBA
Eligibility: Middle school students from ODE’s partner school for the year
Program dates: March 22, 2024 – March 23, 2024
Location: Duke University
Cost: Free
Awards: Not specified
Coding experience required: Beginner
Organized by the Outreach Design Education Program, this hackathon revolves around engineering design. You must participate with your teachers and together use rapid prototyping tools (such as 3-D printing, laser cutting, and Arduino programming) to design and create devices. There is usually a theme involved. The 2023 cohort worked on innovative devices for garden care, like overhead sprinklers or methods to maintain soil moisture. Through this program, you will not only get an introductory look at engineering design but also experience working at Duke’s Engineering Design Pod.
3. QuHacks 2024
Application deadline: Registration opens in October (no deadline specified)
Eligibility: Current middle school and high school students
Program Dates: December 16, 2023, 9 am to 6 pm
Location: John Hopkins University
Cost: Free
Awards: Monetary awards and swag Coding experience required: All levels (beginners can attend workshops and apply to the novice division of the program)
QuHacks is a student-run hackathon that takes place at John Hopkins University. With a novice division and a main division available, even beginners can take part in this hackathon. As a participant, you must develop a project like an app, game, website, or robot and bring it to life through code. You can work alone or in a team of up to four people. This program is all about coding and technology and does not focus on other fields, making it an ideal choice for those specifically looking for experience in these areas.
4. The University of Texas, Dallas’ Hack IT – Information Technology and Systems Hackathon
Application deadline: TBA
Eligibility: Students from the 7th to 12th grades
Program dates: TBA, but previous editions have taken place in January or February
Location: The University of Texas, Dallas
Cost: TBA
Awards: Monetary prizes up to $750
Coding experience required: Intermediate
Organized by the university’s ITS Academy, Hack IT is a day-long hackathon that is a good option for middle school students interested in technology. You will work in teams to build something using technological tools based on a specific theme. For instance, the 2020 edition had teams learn how to program the game ‘Whack-A-Mole’ and then develop a variation of it or a new game altogether. In 2018, students worked with Arduino boards and designed home protection devices/apps that used the Internet of Things. The projects were then judged on the basis of technical feasibility, design, mechanics and team presentation. Future iterations of the hackathon will likely be on similar lines.
Application deadline: April (tentatively, based on previous years)
Eligibility: Students aged 7- 18
Program Dates: April (tentatively, based on previous years
Location: Online
Cost: Free
Awards: A variety of prizes including earbuds and backpacks, free coding courses, subscriptions, and internship opportunities
Coding experience required: Beginner
This virtual hackathon is organized by AiGoLearning, a non-profit, and the Sunshine Foundation. During this international hackathon, students must work individually or in teams of 2 to create a tech project based on a specific theme (one of the previous themes was ‘Coding into the Future with AI’). There are two categories with students up to grade 7 in the junior category and students from grade 8 to 12 grade in the senior category. For those who don’t know coding, the program offers free workshops that will arm you with the basics of coding such as Python, Java, Roblox and more. You can have a look at some of the past winners here.
6. Yale CBIT’s Healthcare Hackathon
Application deadline: January (tentatively, based on previous years)
Eligibility: Anyone can participate (including international students and professionals)
Program Dates: February (tentatively, based on previous yearS)
Location: Yale University
Cost: Free
Awards: $5,000 Rothberg Grand Prize for the best team with additional cash prizes for other teams
Coding experience required: Advanced
Yale’s Center for Biomedical Innovation & Technology has been hosting this hackathon since 2014. The aim is for students and professionals to come together and create innovative solutions for specific problems in the healthcare industry. The theme for 2023 was patient engagement and the keynote speaker was Indira Negi, the deputy director of global health at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. This program is particularly good for networking and meeting a diverse set of people, so it’s likely that you will learn about multiple fields instead of just one.
While this is a highly advanced hackathon where you will work alongside clinicians, engineers, business experts and the like, students as young as 8th graders have been known to participate. Ultimately, you will leave the program having learned about innovation and problem solving in a hands-on way.
7. NASA’s Space Apps Challenge
Application deadline: Registration opens in mid-July and stays open until the end of the hackathon
Eligibility: Open to all. Those under the age of 18 must have their legal guardians register for them and accompany them through the whole event
Program Dates: October (tentatively, based on previous years). You are expected to spend time networking and forming a team before this date.
Location: In-person (multiple locations) and virtual
Cost: Free
Awards: There are 10 Space Apps Global Awards and winners receive a visit to a NASA center/facility
Coding experience required: All levels
This NASA challenge is one of the largest hackathons in the world and a good choice for students who are interested in space. You can sign up for either a local event or a global one. After registering for the program, you must join or create a team of 4-5 people and choose one of the given challenge statements. Based on the challenge, you will work on a solution-based project that uses open-source data from NASA and its space agency partners.
This hackathon requires a group of people with diverse skills to work together, so you might be involved in fields other than coding as well. Having a prestigious NASA program on your resume is well worth the effort no matter what field you are pursuing. All participants will receive a certificate and the winning group will get to visit a NASA center/facility.
8. Design Challenge Hackathon 2023
Application deadline: February 9, 2023
Eligibility: All girls aged 10 – 25 (international applicants allowed)
Program dates: February (tentatively, based on previous years)
Location: Online
Cost: Free
Awards: Up to $1,000
Coding experience required: Beginner
Particularly aimed at girls, this hackathon is hosted by Girls Who Start, a non-profit organization, and sponsored by J. P. Morgan and University Startups. As a participant, you will work in teams of 3-5 to create an idea, prototype and develop a pitch for your product. Your product must be connected with the hackathon’s theme — Femovation for the 2023 cohort and sustainability for the 2022 one. For example, the winning team in 2023 designed a social networking platform that connected parents with childcare workers. This is an ideal choice for students who are more interested in design and would like to work with themes related to societal benefit.
Apart from these individual programs, you can also look at platforms that host a multitude of options. Devpost and Major League Hacking are two such well-known platforms where you can find a range of hackathons with varying difficulty levels!
To prepare yourself for hackathons and learn the fundamentals of computer science, consider applying to Veritas AI!
Founded by Harvard graduate students, Veritas AI gives you the opportunity to work 1-1 with mentors from universities like Harvard, Stanford, MIT, Oxford, and more to write research papers or build unique projects. Last year, we had over 1000 students apply to do AI work with us, and our alums went on to study computer science and AI at top universities. You can find the application form here.
Image Source: Yale CBIT Healthcare Hackathon