About the challenge

LexHack '26 is Lexington High School's first-ever in-person student hackathon. Over two Saturdays bridged by a remote build week, 30 to 40 high school students from across the area will design and ship projects under one theme: Build for someone real.

The premise is simple. Pick a person. Build for them.

You can take one of two paths:

    • Path A: Build for someone you know. A parent, a teacher, a coach, a neighbor. Understand their actual problem, and build them a real solution. They're welcome to show up on Demo Day to see what you made.
    • Path B: Build for a persona. Don't have a specific person in mind? Define a realistic persona and build for them.

Both paths are equally valid. Judges care about one thing: did you deeply understand a human problem and build a thoughtful solution to it.

The event is free, beginner-friendly, and fully AI-friendly.

Schedule

  • Day 1, Saturday, June 6, 2026 (9:00 AM to 2:00 PM ET): Kickoff, team formation, person/persona interviews, planning, and start of building.
  • Build Week — June 7–12, 2026: Remote/independent building. Organizers/helpers available all week via Discord.
  • Day 2 / Demo Day — Saturday, June 13, 2026 (9:00 AM – 2:00 PM): Presentations, judging, People's Choice voting, awarding ceremony. No more building.

Venue: Lexington Community Center, 39 Marrett Rd, Lexington, MA 02421

Get started

1. Register on Devpost and fill out the participant form

2. Join our Discord for team formation, announcements, and mentor support

3. Show up Saturday, June 6 at 9:00 AM, ready to build

Requirements

What to Build

A working software project built for one specific person, real or persona. The project must be created during the hackathon window (June 6 to June 12, 2026). Pre-existing projects are not eligible, but you can use open-source libraries, APIs, and AI tools freely.

No restrictions on stack or platform. Web apps, mobile apps, browser extensions, hardware projects, AI tools, anything you can demo.

What to Submit

All submissions are due on Devpost by Friday, June 12, 2026 at 10:00 PM ET. Late submissions will not be accepted, and judges begin reviewing overnight.

Each team submission must include:

  1. Project name and tagline (one sentence)
  2. Who you built it for — Name your person or persona, describe their situation, and explain the problem you're solving for them
  3. Project description — What it does, how it works, and what makes it interesting
  4. Tech stack — Languages, frameworks, APIs, and tools you used
  5. Demo video — 2 to 3 minute walkthrough hosted on YouTube or Vimeo (embedding enabled)
  6. Code repository — Public GitHub link (or equivalent)
  7. Live link (If applicable) — If applicable, a deployed URL or testable build
  8. Team members — All contributors listed on Devpost

Teams must also present live on Demo Day (Saturday, June 13) to be eligible for any prize. Presentations are 7 minutes each: 5 minutes of demo plus 2 minutes of Q&A.

Hackathon Sponsors

Prizes

$700 in prizes
First Place
$400 in cash
1 winner

Second Place
$200 in cash
1 winner

People's Choice
$100 in cash
1 winner

Devpost Achievements

Submitting to this hackathon could earn you:

Judges

Atharv Chandratre
Software Engineer at DoorDash

Sam Park

Sam Park
CEO of Endstack

Santosh Mutyala

Santosh Mutyala
featherless ai

Judging Criteria

  • Impact / Usefulness (40%)
    How real and meaningful is the problem this project solves for the person it was built for? Does the project demonstrate deep understanding of the user's actual needs, and does it deliver a solution that would genuinely help them? Out of 10
  • Technical Execution (30%)
    How well-built is the project? Does it work reliably, handle edge cases, and demonstrate solid engineering decisions? Is the technical approach appropriate to the problem being solved? Out of 10
  • Creativity + Design (20%)
    How original is the approach? Is the user experience thoughtful and polished? Does the project show creative thinking in both how the problem is framed and how it is solved? Out of 10
  • Presentation (10%)
    How clearly does the team communicate who they built for, what problem they solved, and how their project works? Is the demo well-prepared and compelling? Out of 10

Questions? Email the hackathon manager

Invite others to compete

Hackathon sponsors

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.