SANS Holiday Hack Challenge
A free online cybersecurity CTF by SANS Institute held every December. Open to participants worldwide including high school teams. Each year's challenge is holiday-themed with diverse challenges over ~2 weeks. Leaderboards and prizes for top scorers.
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picoCTF
A free, online capture-the-flag cybersecurity contest created by Carnegie Mellon for middle and high schoolers. Players solve interactive puzzles in reverse engineering, cryptography, web hacking, and forensics to collect flags. Annual contest runs March–April.
2026 U.S. Innovator Challenge
The U.S. Innovator Challenge is an invitation-only national innovation competition hosted by Innovation World where top K-12 inventors from across the United States present their inventions virtually, with winners advancing to a global innovation event.
Apex High School AI Championship
National AI competition where students solve STEM and AI challenges through interactive experiences. Prizes include $50K+ in scholarships.
California Cyber Innovation Challenge (Mission Apgaritum)
An annual free state-level cyber competition for CA high school teams organized by Cal Poly CCI. Students solve a simulated cyber-crime scenario involving digital forensics and puzzles. The event usually runs virtually in early October with awards for top teams.
Code/Art Game Design Competition for Girls
A national game design competition for female-identifying and gender non-binary students in grades 3-12. Participants design and build an original browser-based game (Scratch, GameLab, p5.js, or MakeCode Arcade) and submit a written reflection, competing for cash prizes by grade division.
Congressional App Challenge
Annual nationwide competition where students create original apps and submit to their congressional district. Winning apps are displayed in the U.S. Capitol.