Central Ohio’s One-Day Hackathon for High Schoolers

 

November 23, 2025 | Fontana Labs – Ohio State University or Online

About

High School I/O is a one-day hackathon for high schoolers hosted by OHI/O, Ohio State’s hackathon program. We aim to provide high school students an opportunity to learn about computer science in a fun, engaging, and inclusive environment.

When

Sunday, November 23, 2025

Where

Fontana Labs, 140 W 19th Ave, Columbus, OH 43210

Learn

Attend workshops led by OSU students and receive mentorship from tech professionals.

Collaborate

Form teams, make friends, and bring your ideas to life!

The event is free of cost for participants, and lunch, dinner, and snacks are provided!

Volunteers

Interested in mentoring or judging for High School I/O? All college students, faculty, and industry professionals are welcome to sign up!

Mentors will be a key role throughout the event, helping students create better projects and guiding them through any challenges they may run into.

Judges will help out after hacking ends, reviewing projects based on several factors such as technical difficulty, originality, and more.

SCHEDULE – Sunday, November 23rd (Subject to change)

Event Time
Doors Open for Check-In and Breakfast 8:00 AM
Opening Ceremony 9:00 AM
Hacking Begins! 9:30 AM
ICICLE Workshop 12:00 PM
Lunch 12:00 PM
Code 4 Community Workshop 1:00 PM
College Panel 2:00 PM
Hacking Ends 4:30 PM
Dinner 5:00 PM
Judging Begins 5:00 PM
Closing Ceremony 7:00 PM

FAQ

Participants will work on team projects in whatever topic they choose! Additionally, there will be challenges that participants may choose to take on. Project deliverables usually look like some type of application/site that has been created by the participants to achieve a specific goal. In addition to this, hardware can also be used if needed!

The event is both in-person and remote. We will be using Discord to host the event online.

Teams can range from 2-4 students.

Everything will work as before, but be virtualized using different technologies. There will still be access to mentors, sponsors, and other hackers. If you plan to attend virtually, be sure to join the HackOHI/O 2025 Discord for pertinent updates when you receive an invitation.

Yes! Student’s can form their own teams in the #team-formation channel in Discord! Details of how to create a team will be posted in Discord server.

That’s fine! High School I/O is an opportunity to meet new people who have similar interests to you! Posting a little about yourself in the discord can help others get to know you and potentially find teammates!

High School I/O is open to anyone, regardless of coding experience. We have mentors standing by to answer any questions you may have as well as a list of resources to help you start coding. This list will be found in the participant guide on discord soon!

When available, prizes can be found in the Prizes section of this website.

To be eligible for prizes, you must be in a team of 2-4 people. Prizes may be won by completing challenges and winning in the general categories! Each team’s project will be judged to determine final prizes. All projects must follow our Project Submission Guidelines

CHALLENGES – Official Challenges for High School I/O 2025

Challenge Tracks Challenge Description
Web/App Design Track: Byte Into Food Click here
Data Analysis Track: Food For Thought Click here
Game Dev Track: Play To Nourish Click here

PRIZES – Official Prizes for High School I/O 2025

Place Prize  
Web/App Design Track Winner LEGO Set
Data Analysis Track Winner Projector
Game Dev Track Winner 3D Printer

WINNERS – Official Winners of High School I/O 2025

Challenges    
Web/App Design Track Winner Team 21 – CS Artistas
Data Analysis Track Winner Team 37 – jayadeep akasam
Game Dev Track Winner Team 30 – SASA