Princeton High School's seventh annual hackathon
into the skies...
October 10–11, 2026 · Princeton High School
hackPHS brings high school students from across New Jersey together for 24 hours of building, learning, meeting new people, and making something awesome.
01 / About
hackPHS hosts over 100 high school students from across New Jersey to collaborate, innovate, and create in a 24-hour, student-organized hackathon at Princeton High School. Whether you're a complete beginner or an experienced hacker, hackPHS will have something for you!
You don't need a perfect idea or years of experience. Just bring a laptop, some curiosity, and a willingness to try something new.
Open-source hackathon
hackPHS is built around open source. Hackers are encouraged to publish their code, use open-source tools, and share what they learn. See what hackers built last year.
02 / Schedule
Here's everything happening from check-in to closing. If a few things share a time, pick whatever sounds most fun!
| Time | Activities | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Day oneSaturday
|
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| Check-in begins 9:00–10:00 AM | ||||
| Opening ceremony 10:00–11:00 AM | ||||
| Hacking 11:00 AM–2:00 PM | Team building 11:00–11:30 AM | |||
| Potential guest talk(s) 11:30 AM–2:00 PM | ||||
| Intro to JavaScript 12:00–2:00 PM | Intro to Python 12:00–1:00 PM | |||
| Data analytics with Python 1:00–3:00 PM | ||||
| Lunch 2:00–4:00 PM | ||||
| Intro to neural networks 3:00–5:00 PM | ||||
| Hacking 4:00–7:00 PM | Intro to web design 4:00–5:00 PM | Intro to 3D design and CAD 4:00–5:30 PM | ||
| Web design for awareness 5:00–6:30 PM | Implementing AI/ML for environmental action 5:00–8:00 PM | |||
| Potential guest talk(s) 5:30–7:00 PM | ||||
| Prompt engineering 6:30–7:00 PM | ||||
| Dinner 7:00–9:00 PM | TBD 7:00–8:00 PM | |||
| Intro to AI ethics 8:00–9:00 PM | ||||
| Hacking 9:00–10:00 PM | Preparation for AI ethics mock panel 9:00–10:00 PM | Intro to Java 9:00–10:00 PM | ||
| Panel discussion and voting for the winner! 10:00–11:00 PM | ||||
| Hacking continues overnight | TBD 11:00 PM–12:00 AM | Karaoke 11:00 PM–12:00 AM | TBD 11:00 PM–12:00 AM | |
|
Day twoSunday
|
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| Hacking 12:00–10:00 AM | Midnight snack 12:00–1:00 AM | Chess tournament 12:00–2:00 AM | ||
| Movie night 1:00–3:00 AM | ||||
| Sleep 2:00–7:00 AM | ||||
| Intro to vibe coding 3:00–4:00 AM | ||||
| Vibe-coded video game contest 4:00–6:00 AM | ||||
| Intro to HTML and CSS + React 6:00–7:00 AM | ||||
| Intro to advanced algorithms 7:00–8:00 AM | Breakfast 7:00–10:00 AM | |||
| Programming tournament 8:00–10:00 AM | Intro to Swift (beginner) and intro to SwiftUI (advanced) 8:00–10:00 AM | |||
| Projects due and judging begins 10:00 AM–12:00 PM | ||||
| Closing ceremony | ||||
03 / Prizes
Learning something new is already a win. But we also have a few things to send you home with, from new gear to tools for your next project.
01 First place
$600 total for all
A 24-inch Full HD display with a smooth 200Hz refresh rate and 0.3ms response time. More frames, less blur.
One for each team member
First place extras
02 Second place
$350 total for four keyboards
Magnetic switches with rapid trigger, an 8,000Hz polling rate, and customizable RGB lighting.
One for each team member
03 Third place
$100 total for all 4 mice
VXE Dragon Fly R1. A lightweight 55g mouse with adjustable sensitivity and buttons. Connect over Bluetooth, 2.4GHz wireless, or USB.
One for each team member
Drag a product image sideways to tilt it. You can also use the arrow keys when focused. Click or press Home to reset.
All three winning teams
Each member of the top three teams also receives:
For everyone
Scholarships apply toward program tuition; software prizes are subscriptions or credits. For competition details, visit our Devpost.
04 / FAQs
Everything first-time and returning hackers usually want to know. Still wondering about something? Email team@hackphs.tech
hackPHS 2026 is for high school students. If you are no longer in high school and would like to help, consider becoming a mentor, chaperone, or volunteer by emailing team@hackphs.tech
Registration is open for 2026! Fill out our registration form and you'll be good to go. You can also find hackPHS 2026 on Devpost.
Email team@hackphs.tech with how you would like to help, your availability, and any relevant experience.
Free food and drinks will be provided, including options for common dietary restrictions. We will also have designated quiet sleeping areas and electrical outlets throughout the cafeteria for charging devices.
Bring a laptop, charger, any project hardware, a sleeping bag, a change of clothes, toiletries, and anything else you need to stay comfortable overnight.
Teams of up to 4 people are encouraged (though not mandatory). If you don't have a team before the event, don't worry! At the beginning of the event, there will be a team-building workshop, which will be a great way to meet other enthusiastic people and even make new friends.
All hackers must follow Major League Hacking's Code of Conduct and Princeton High School rules while on campus. All hackers should and are expected to respect one another and help make the event safe and welcoming to participate in.
hackPHS hopes to emphasize learning and collaboration more so than competition—nonetheless, there will be awesome prizes to be won for some of the best hacks made during the event! Check out the prizes, including gear, research scholarships, and subscriptions. There are also perks for every participant!
While you can learn a great deal in the process of building an ambitious project in such a limited time frame, we also plan to offer many introductory workshops (around 1 hour each) during the event for those new to software and/or hardware engineering. Last year's topics included Python, Web Development, and Circuitry, among many others—check our schedule (coming soon) for the full list!
Follow @hackphs on Instagram for announcements and behind-the-scenes updates.
Send it to team@hackphs.tech and the team will help.
05 / Sponsors
We are eternally grateful to each and every one of our sponsors. Their support makes this entire weekend possible—from the food and prizes to the tools our hackers get to build with. We truly could not do this without them.
Interested in sponsoring? Check out our 2026 prospectus and reach out to us at team@hackphs.tech
