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Major League Hacking 2026 Hackathon Season
BERJAYA hackPHS 2026

Princeton High School's seventh annual hackathon

hackPHS2026

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.

Registration and the waitlist are closed.

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01 / About

What is
hackPHS?

hackPHS hosts over 400 high school students from across New Jersey to collaborate and create in a 24-hour, student-organized hackathon at PHS. hackPHS is designed for anyone and for everyone, experienced or beginner.

*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.

400+students
24hours together
$0to attend
1weekend to build
Read the hackPHS event guide

Fun fact: We're the largest hackathon hosted by a high school in New Jersey.

You don't need a perfect idea or years of experience. Just bring a laptop, some curiosity, and a willingness to try something new!

02 / Schedule

The night
flight plan...

Here's everything happening from check-in to closing. If a few things share a time, pick whatever sounds most fun to you!

Longer blocks mean longer events Swipe sideways to see every activity track

Day oneSaturday
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
Intro to JavaScript + React.js 12:00–2:00 PM Intro to Python 12:00–1:00 PM
Data analytics with Python 1:00–3:00 PM Nathaniel Daw Computational neuroscience · Princeton University 1:00–2:00 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 Circuitry Guest workshop · Nicholas Kopaliani 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
Yushu A. Cheng Environmental engineering · Princeton University 5:30–6:30 PM
Intro to Generative AI Guest workshop · Aryahi Pimple 6:30–8:00 PM Vritika Singh Women in STEM and undergraduate CS life · UNC Chapel Hill 6:30–7:00 PM
Dinner 7:00–9:00 PM Estimathon 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
AI Panel Discussion 10:00–11:00 PM
Hacking continues overnight Chess tournament 11:00 PM–12:00 AM Karaoke 11:00 PM–12:00 AM
Day twoSunday
Hacking 12:00–10:00 AM Sleep 12:00–7:00 AM
Midnight snack 12:30–7:00 AM
Movie night 1:00–3:00 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 6:00–7:00 AM
Breakfast 7:00–10:00 AM Intro to advanced algorithms 7:00–8:00 AM
Intro to Swift 8:00–10:00 AM
Projects due and judging begins 10:00 AM–12:00 PM
Closing ceremony 12:00 PM

03 / Prizes

Make something...
Win Something!

Overall awards, specialty tracks, workshop raffles, competitive event prizes, and perks for everyone. Here's what we're giving away this year.

First place

Gaming monitor

$600 team total

24-inch Full HD / 200Hz / 0.3ms

One for each team member

Second place

Gaming keyboard

$350 four keyboards

Magnetic switches, rapid trigger, 8,000Hz polling, and customizable RGB.

One for each team member

Third place

Gaming mouse

$100 four mice

VXE Dragon Fly R1. 55g, adjustable sensitivity and buttons. Bluetooth, 2.4GHz wireless, or USB.

One for each team member

On top of the monitor

First-place extras

  • 3 months of ElevenLabs Pro per member
  • 1 year of NordVPN Prime, NordPass Premium, NordProtect/Coveron, and Incogni
  • 1 GB of Saily eSIM data
  • 3 months of nexos.ai access and €200 in credits
  • Four $25 AoPS coupons for the team
  • 30% off the Algoverse program for the first-place team

Drag a product image sideways to tilt it. You can also use the arrow keys when focused. Click or press Home to reset.

First, second & third

For every winning
team member

  • $1,000 scholarship toward the RISE Research Program
  • 2 years of Windscribe Pro
  • 4 years of TI-84 Plus CE Online Calculator access
  • 3 months of Codeset Fellow

Specialty tracks

Track prizes

Best Project with ElevenLabs
3 months of Scale$897 value over 3 months · 1.8 million credits/month
Best Project related to Cybersecurity
3 years of Windscribe
Best Project related to Codeset
Fellow tierValued at $1,200 per year

For each of the three track winners

2 Cow Squishmallows
& 2 Stuffed Cow Plushies

Each track-winning team also receives these four plush prizes, in addition to its track award above.

View the stuffed cow plushie
Stuffed Cow Plushie · one of the prizes for every track

For everyone

Software & swag

  • Free .xyz domain for 1 year
  • 15% off the Algoverse program for all participants
  • 1 month of Codeset Learner with 5,000 credits
  • 1 month of ElevenLabs Creator
  • HRT shirts and playing cards
  • PREA frisbees, playing cards, and pens
  • MLH swag and stickers

Attend workshops to enter

Raffle prizes

Each workshop you attend earns another raffle entry. Attend more workshops to earn more entries and increase your chances of winning.

  • 2 × $50 AndyMark gift cards
  • 2 × OpenMV H7 R2 cameras
  • 5 × 3D printed dragons
  • Speaker
  • Film camera
  • Mic kit

Compete during the event

Competitive event prizes

First place

  • 2 × keyboards
  • Speaker
  • Monitor light

Second place

  • Mouse
  • Plushie
  • LED strips
  • Speaker

Third place

  • 4 × 3D printed dragons
  • Choose from the 3D box (8 items)

Scholarships apply toward program tuition; software prizes are subscriptions or credits. For competition details, visit our Devpost.

04 / FAQs

Before you
pack your bag!

Everything first-time and returning hackers usually want to know. Still wondering about something? Email team@hackphs.tech

01 Who can attend this event?

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

02 How do I apply?

Registration and the waitlist are closed. You can find hackPHS 2026 on Devpost.

03 How do I become a mentor, chaperone, or volunteer?

Email team@hackphs.tech with how you would like to help, your availability, and any relevant experience.

04 What will be provided during the event?

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.

05 What should I bring?

Bring your ID and a printed, signed participant waiver. If you're under 18, a parent or legal guardian must also sign. Bring the full packet on the day of the event, even if you've already signed up.

Also bring a laptop, charger, any project hardware, a sleeping bag, a change of clothes, toiletries, and anything else you need to stay comfortable overnight.

06 How do I form a team?

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.

07 Is there a Code of Conduct?

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.

08 What can I win?

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!

09 What can I learn?

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 for the full list!

10 Where can I find hackPHS on social media?

Follow @hackphs on Instagram for announcements and behind-the-scenes updates.

11 My question is not answered here.

Send it to team@hackphs.tech and the team will help.

05 / Sponsors

The sponsors
behind this weekend!!

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.

hackPHS / Schedule

Time
Room
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