Los Altos' fifth annual high school hackathon

We bring together hundreds of high school students from across the Bay Area to work together and make their ideas a reality.

We'll provide the food, refreshments and hacking spaces for you—the hackers—to do your magic. Just bring your ideas and your passion!

Los Altos Hacks V will take place at the Juniper Aspiration Dome in Sunnyvale, California on March 21-22, 2020.

All high schoolers are welcome to our fifth year — and it'll be our best yet! With 350 total people, we'll be having a blast while learning many valuable coding skills along the way. No coding experience is required; there's a place for everyone at our hackathon!

As always, Los Altos Hacks will be 100% free, including prizes, four free meals (including boba!), swag, mentorship, and much more!

For more information and to sign up, visit https://losaltoshacks.com. See you on March 21-22!

View full rules

Hackathon Sponsors

Prizes

$7,466 in prizes

1st Place Overall

- iPad Air for all team members
- MLH finalist pins for all team members
- Invitations to Pinnacle, "the Olympics of Hackathons" for each team member. More info @ pinnacle.us.org.

2nd Place Overall

- Creality Ender 3 3D Printer for all team members
- MLH finalist pins for all team members

3rd Place Overall

- Airpods Pro for all team members
- MLH finalist pins for all team members

Most Creative

- Amazon Echo Dot for all team members
- MLH finalist pins for all team members

Best Beginner Hack

- Hackers with less than 3 hackathons under their belt and less than 1 year of programming experience applies
- The Tech Museum Tickets (pack of 4 each) for all team members
- MLH finalist pins for all team members

Best Intermediate Hack

- Hackers with 3+ hackathons under their belt and/or 1+ year of programming experience applies
- Alloy Origins RGB Mechanical Gaming Keyboards for all team members

Best iOS App

JBL Flip 4 Speakers for all team members

Best Android App

Google Home for all team members

Best Web App

Chromecast (3rd gen) for all team members

Best Security Hack

Amazon Echo for all team members

Best Domain Registered with Domain.com

Domain.com provides all the domain services you need from registration to hosting to SSL certificates and beyond. Each hacker will receive a FREE domain name and year of domain privacy from Domain.com for their project this weekend! The best hack on a registered Domain.com domain will receive exclusive Domain.com Backpacks!

Best UiPath Automation Hack

Build an automation hack using UiPath! Each winning team member will receive a UiPath/MLH Branded Backpack and an opportunity to interview for a UiPath Internship in 2020 with high recommendation!

Most Creative Radar.io Hack

Build the most creative hack using Radar, the location API that allows you to add location context, like Geofences, to your hacks with just a few lines of code. Create awesome projects like a Pokemon Go clone, or Foursquare with ease. Each winning team member will be eligible to win a Tile Sticker Smart Tracker and a chance to be featured by Radar.

Devpost Achievements

Submitting to this hackathon could earn you:

Eligibility

In order to participate in the hackathon, you must be in high school (or of equivalent age). If you're in middle school, you may be able to participate; please contact us at info@losaltoshacks.com for more information.

Teams can be maximum 4 people, and everyone must be present at the hackathon to participate. You must also have your parent packet signed (which will be emailed to you after you are accepted) and your student ID. Your student ID will be used to confirm your identity, verify that you are a student, and redeem hardware (for hacking) from our MLH hardware station.

Requirements

You must:

  • Select which sponsor prize(s) you are applying for
  • Specify if anyone on your team is a beginner

Judges

Adarsh Nair

Adarsh Nair
Senior Program Manager @ VMware

Pranay Pareek

Pranay Pareek
Member of Technical Staff @ VMware

Dexter Arver

Dexter Arver
Senior Manager, Web Apps @ VMware

T. Sridhar

T. Sridhar
Principal Engineer @ VMware

Efay Guo

Efay Guo
Founder @ Bogo Technology Inc.

Linus Lee

Linus Lee
Product Engineer @ Hack Club Bank

Judging Criteria

  • Originality
    Is the hack more than just another generic social/mobile/local app? Does it do something entirely novel, or at least take a fresh approach to an old problem?
  • Technical Difficulty
    Is the hack technically interesting or difficult? Is it just some lipstick on an API, or were there real technical challenges to surmount?
  • Polish
    Is the hack usable in its current state? Is the user experience smooth? Does everything appear to work? Is it well designed?
  • Usefulness
    Is the hack practical? Is it something people would actually use? Does it fulfill a real need people have?