About
Hoosier Hacks is an in-person free-of-cost hackathon run by the Hack Club chapter from West Lafayette Jr./Sr. High School. Any intermediate/high school student in the state of Indiana is welcomed. Absolutely no programming experience is needed. Hoosier Hacks will offer many different workshops covering various topics of computer science. Students may choose to attend any of these workshops. These workshops will aid students with their projects.
Near the end of the event, students will present their projects to judges who will rank their projects based on creativity, uniqueness, and practicality. Prizes will be given out to projects that have excelled in their respective category.
Info
Basic Information
| Location | West Lafayette Jr./Sr. High School1 | Time | Grades 7 - 12: Saturday, April 4th, 2026, 10 am - 6 pm | Time for 5th and 6th Grade | Saturday, April 4th, 2026, 10 am - 1 pm (pickup required after lunch) | Grades | 5 - 12 (No CS experience required) | What to Bring | Laptop with charger and a positive attitude! |
FAQs
What Will I Do?
- You will work with a team to create a programming project. If it's your first time coding, we will have a workshop to get you started. Cool prizes will be handed out to outstanding projects.
Will I have to be there for the entire time?
- No, you do not have to stay for the entire time. If you need to leave early, find one of the organizers and give them your project and contact information. We will contact you if your project ends up winning a prize.
What type of snacks will there be?
- We will provide pizza for lunch, cookies, chips, and other snacks!
Is there parking?
- There is plenty of parking available on site!
For further questions, please contact JiuJiu Liu.
Logistics
| Time | Event | 10:00 - 10:30 | Arrival and Check-in | 10:30 - 11:00 | Opening Ceremony and Team Formation | 11:00 - 12:00 | Workshops | 12:00 - 13:00 | Lunch Break and Work Time | 13:00 - 17:00 | Work Time | 17:00 - 18:00 | Judging and Award Ceremony |
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Awards
Hoosier Hacks offers a varsity and novice division where students compete for prizes based on the quality of their projects. Awards will be handed out for projects that excel in their respective categories.
Purdue Agriculture
Purdue Agriculture (#3 nationally) is at the forefront of digital agriculture, using data science, sensing, and AI to advance better food systems, healthier forests, and more sustainable agriculture. From smart sensing in the field to real-world AI deployment, Purdue Ag is helping shape the future of agriculture through technology.
Thank you to Purdue Agriculture Dean Bernie Engel for partially sponsoring the event.
Special thanks to Dean Bernie Engel for his leadership and support, and to Prof. Somali Chaterji for her Hackathon keynote, "Doing More with Less: From Generative AI to Tiny Devices, Self-Driving Cars, and Greener Computing."
Prof. Chaterji, whose work spans both the Colleges of Engineering and Agriculture, studies use-inspired machine learning for real-world systems, including low-energy, deadline-aware computing on small and embedded devices (Internet of Small Things or IoST for short). In her talk, she introduced students in grades 5-12 to foundation models, LiDAR analytics for forests and self-driving cars, generative AI systems that turn text prompts and noise into images, and intelligent sensing on small devices. Her keynote highlighted a powerful idea for the next generation of innovators: the best AI system is not always the biggest one, but the one that uses the right amount of intelligence, sensing, and compute for the job.
Sponsors
Hoosier Hacks thanks all of our sponsors that help make this event possible!
