It is with great enthusiasm that I announce the first annual Congressional STEM Academic Competition, also known as the “House App Contest.” This new competition is designed to engage student’s creativity and encourage participation in the fields of science, technology, engineering and math. Representing the hotbed of innovation that is Silicon Valley has convinced me of the importance of supporting investment in STEM education through initiatives like these and legislation like H.R. 2426, the Educating Tomorrow's Engineers Act, of which I am a proud cosponsor. We must prepare our students for competitive employment in the high-tech industry and enhance American competitiveness in the global economy.
Authorized by House Resolution 77 in 2013 and based on the Congressional Art Competition held since 1982, this competition is a nationwide event that allows high school students from across the country to compete by creating and exhibiting their software application, or “app,” for mobile, tablet, or computer devices on a platform of their choice. Throughout the completion period, participating students will be provided opportunities to engage with various STEM educational partners located within the community to mentor and assist them with their app development.
Download the Contest Rules here.
To Register
1. Check out which Congressional district you live in at House.gov. The contest is open to all high school students living in the 14th District and those eligible to enroll in high schools located in the District. Teams of up to four are permitted in which at least two of the students are from my District.
3. Register at StudentAppChallenge.house.gov by May 31, 2014.
4. Create an account at ChallengePost.com by May 31, 2014. Visit ChallengePost any time before April 30 to submit your contact information, completed release form, and final app entry.
To Compete
1. Submit your app’s source code online between now and 9:00 PM Pacific Time on May 31, 2014.
2. Provide a YouTube or VIMEO video demo explaining your app and what you learned through this competition process. All entries must be an original in concept, design and execution.
3. A specially selected, local panel of judges will score you on the quality of your idea (including creativity and originality), the implementation (including user experience and design), and demonstrated excellence in coding and programming skills.
Resources for Students and Teachers
· Code.org
· 36 Resources To Help You Teach Kids Programming
· CodeAcademy.COM self-taught courses in HTML/CSS, Python, Ruby, and PHP
· MIT App Inventor tutorial to develop mobile apps on Android phones.
· Scratch a simple visual programming language
· Alice is used to create 3D animations
· Development Kits:
o Apple iOS Developer Program
o Android- Develop for Android
o Windows Apps
The district winner or winning team will get the chance to present their apps to judges, community leaders, and me at an awards ceremony, while your app will be displayed along with each district’s winners in the U.S Capitol in Washington, DC!
For any additional information, please contact Kenneth Dowling in my Washington DC office at 202-225-3531 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. I look forward to receiving the entries and hearing about the challenges the students undertake as they delve deeper into the STEM fields!
