The whole weekend, hour by hour.
24 hours of building, learning, and community. Here's how it flows.
Dates
February 21-22, 2026
Length
24 hours
Venue
Computer Science Building, University of Massachusetts Amherst
Day 1
Saturday, Feb 21- 9:00 AM
Check-in & breakfast
Grab your badge, swag, and a bite. Find a comfy spot.
CS Building Lobby
- 10:30 AM
Opening ceremony
Welcome, mission, sponsors, and how the weekend works.
Main Auditorium
- 11:30 AM
Team formation & hacking begins
Meet teammates, pick an idea, and start building.
- 1:00 PM
Lunch
CS Building Lobby
- 2:30 PM
Intro to web development
A beginner-friendly workshop to ship your first page.
Workshop Room A
- 4:00 PM
Building with AI APIs
Add intelligence to your project in an afternoon.
Workshop Room B
- 7:00 PM
Dinner & mentor mixer
CS Building Lobby
- 10:00 PM
Late-night activities
Step away from the keyboard, play some games, recharge.
Day 2
Sunday, Feb 22- 8:00 AM
Breakfast
CS Building Lobby
- 10:30 AM
Submissions due
Push your code and submit your project on Devpost.
- 11:00 AM
Project expo & judging
Demo your build to judges and fellow hackers.
Main Hall
- 1:00 PM
Closing ceremony & awards
Celebrate the weekend and crown the winners.
Main Auditorium
A representative 24-hour schedule. Exact times are announced closer to the event and shown in Eastern Time.
Prizes
Winners are crowned at the closing ceremony across these categories, plus sponsor challenges.
- Best Software Hack
- The strongest software build of the weekend.
- Best Hardware Hack
- The most impressive hardware creation.
- Best AI Hack
- The most creative use of AI.
- Best DEI Hack
- The project that best advances diversity, equity, and inclusion.
- Best Beginner Hack
- The standout project from first-time hackers.
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