First place
Gaming monitor
$600 team total
24-inch Full HD / 200Hz / 0.3ms
One for each team member
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 closes September 29 at 11:59 PM Eastern. After that, sign-ups will go on the waitlist.
Preorder merch Preorders close September 30.
01 / About
What is
hackPHS?
hackPHS hosts over 100 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.
100+students
24hours together
$0to attend
1weekend to build
Read the hackPHS event guide
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!
| Time | Activities | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
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 | |||
| 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 | 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 12:00–7:00 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 + React 6:00–7:00 AM | ||||
| Breakfast 7:00–10:00 AM | Intro to advanced algorithms 7:00–8:00 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
Make something...
Win Something!
Three overall winners, three specialty tracks, and a few things for everyone. Here's what we're giving away this year.
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
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 everyone
Software & swag
- 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
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 closes September 29 at 11:59 PM Eastern. After that, sign-ups will go on the waitlist. Fill out the registration form to request a spot. You can also 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 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.
Interested in sponsoring? Check out our 2026 prospectus and reach out to us at team@hackphs.tech