SolarHacks II

Online

July 28-29

About

SolarHacks II is the largest Bay Area hackathon with over 200-participants. It was organized to promote STEM in the bright minds of our rising generation. We are affiliated with Mission San Jose High School’s app development club. Our goal is to bring middle and high school students in the Bay Area together to develop innovative ideas that could revolutionize the world. At SolarHacks II, we provide students with the resources and mentorship that would be needed to convert their ideas into a reality. Additionally, by the end of the Hackathon, students will be able to learn how to collaborate with their peers to build STEM projects, gain presentation skills, and be inspired to continue doing things they love! Food, workshops, assistance, drinks, and swag will be provided to all participants for free! We want all participants to enjoy their day at SolarHacks II, hence, we would encourage everybody to arrive at the Hackathon with a competitive mindset.

FAQ

Who can attend?

SolarHacks is open to all middle and high school students (7th to 12th grade). No experience is necessary, and we would love to see new participants! However, if you have already graduated from high school, you can still attend as a mentor!

Do I have to pay for anything?

Attending SolarHacks is and will always be free! Leave your money at home, as we won't be selling you anything! We will provide you with breakfast, lunch, dinner, and a bunch of snacks, all for free!

What can I get from coming?

In addition to a fun and unique experience to improve your maker skills with your friends, we will have amazing prizes for our best submissions! And even if you don't end up winning, everyone will get free food and swag, including T-shirts, laptop stickers, and various goodies from our sponsors!

What should I bring?

All you need to bring is a laptop to work on, a student ID from your school, toiletries, and any accessories you might want (headphones, chargers, cool hardware to work with, etc). We'll provide the food, swag, prizes, and mentors for free!

What can I make?

Anything you want! Software projects are often the most popular type of submission, but we also welcome and encourage other types of unique submissions, like hardware (Arduinos, Raspberry Pi, etc), invention prototypes, artwork, or anything else you can think of. Even if you can't or don't want to code, there are still plenty of things you can make to wow the judges!

How many people can be in a team?

Teams can be a maximum of 4 people. Solo teams are allowed, but we strongly encourage you to meet new people if you come by yourself! On the other hand, if you are a team of 2 or 3, one of the best things you can do is invite someone new to join your team - they will bring in new ideas and areas of expertise. At the beginning of the event, we will do our best to help everyone find a team.

How long is the event?

SolarHacks is a one-day event, for it will last from 7:00 AM - 10:00 PM. It will be a fun and exciting day!

Do I have to know how to code?

Definitely not! If you don't feel like coding, there are still so many things you can make - see 'What can I make?' for a couple ideas. If you do want to code something but don't know how yet, don't worry! We will hold workshops and provide expert mentors to help you get started.

How will our project be judged?

All projects will be judged with the same criteria: originality, polish, difficulty of implementation, and viability as a product. We highly suggest that you treat your project like a product that you could potentially sell- rather than pitching just for the judges, pitch for everyone else, too!

I have more questions, help me!

Please feel free to join the official SolarHacks Discord channel at: solarhacks.org/discord or feel free to email us at contact@solarhacks.org!

Schedule

Saturday

Sunday

Awards and Prizes

TBD

Our Team