Visit synthesishacks.com for more details.
About the challenge
Synthesis Hacks is a free, in-person 12-hour hackathon for high schoolers in the Bay Area. It runs Saturday, May 23, 2026, at Google Humboldt in Sunnyvale, CA.
Beginners are welcome. A lot of attendees will be writing their first real code on Saturday, and mentors are around the whole day to help when you get stuck.
Show up alone or with friends. We run a team-matching session right after check-in for anyone arriving solo. Teams are 2 to 4 people. Build whatever you want: an app, a website, a game, a hardware hack. You have until 5 PM to submit.
Sponsors cover food, prizes, drinks, snacks, and WiFi. You bring a laptop, a charger, and a school ID for check-in.
Who it's for
High school students, grades 9 through 12. No prior experience needed.
Location
Google Humboldt
227 Humboldt Ct, Sunnyvale, CA 94089
Prize Categories
- Grand Prize (announced closer to the event)
- Best Technical Implementation
- Most Creative Concept
- Best First Hackathon
- Best UI/UX Design
- Audience Favorite
CONTACT
team@synthesishacks.com or bernard.w.freund@gmail.com for general questions.
sponsors@synthesishacks.com for sponsorship.
Discord: https://discord.gg/Pwkn86hH
Requirements
Submissions
Each team submits one project on Devpost by 5:00 PM on May 23, 2026.
Required fields:
- Project name
- Details, what it does
- Screenshots, interactives
- A link to your code (GitHub, GitLab, or similar)
- All team members added to the submission
You can use any language, framework, library, API, or AI tool you want. Cite anything you didn't write yourself. The project has to be built during the event, between 9:30 AM and 5:00 PM on May 23. Pre-built projects will be disqualified.
After submitting, present your project in person to the judges starting at 5:30 PM. Each team gets a few minute demo slot. Bring whatever you need to show it off.
Prizes
To be announced
Stay tuned for the prizes!
Devpost Achievements
Submitting to this hackathon could earn you:
Judges
To be announced
Google
Judging Criteria
-
To be announced
Questions? Email the hackathon manager
Invite others to compete
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.