"House App Challenge"

This year marks the first annual Congressional Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) Academic Competition, the “House App Challenge.”  This new competition is designed to engage student’s creativity and encourage their participation in STEM education fields.  Established by Members of the U.S. House of Representatives in 2013, 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.

The “House App Contest” is open to all high school students (and all eligible to attend public high school) in Maryland's 5th Congressional District. Students may work individually or in teams.  All entries must be original in concept, design and execution.  Students entering the competition must register in advance to show their intent to participate (directions below), and then submit their app’s source code along with a YouTube or VIMEO video that demos/explains their app and what they learned through this competition, by 11:59 PM EDT on MAY 31, 2014 (The deadline was previously April 30, 2014, but was extended on April 23, 2014).

To Register

Although there is no registration deadline, students who decide to participate should register as soon as possible in order to receive more information about the competition.  All participating students must register on both of the following websites:  

1. Register on http://studentappchallenge.house.gov/, the House's main App Challenge webpage in order to confirm your Congressional District and eligibility.
2. Register on http://housestudentapps.challengepost.com/, a popular code competition website that is helping the House manage the competition.

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:
  • Apple iOS Developer Program
  • Android- Develop for Android
  • Windows Apps

House Student App Challenge FAQs

• What is the House Student App Challenge?
  • Established by Members of the U.S. House of Representatives in 2013, the House Student App Challenge is a nationwide event that invites high school students to compete by creating and exhibiting their software application, or “app,” for mobile, tablet, or computer devices on a platform of their choice. The competition is designed to engage the creativity of students and encourage their participation in STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) education fields.  
• Who can participate?
  • High school students who live in or are eligible to attend public schools located in the Maryland's 5th Congressional District can participate. To confirm your eligibility, please visit StudentAppChallenge.house.gov. Participants must be at least 13 years old as of February 1, 2014.
• What if I don't live in Maryland's 5th Congressional District?  
  • You can enter your home address on http://studentappchallenge.house.gov/ to see if your local Congressman/Congresswoman is participating in the competition.  
• Can home-schooled students participate?
  • Yes. Any high school student who lives in Maryland's 5th Congressional District or is eligible to attend public high school in the district can compete.
• Can students submit in teams?
  • Yes. The maximum team size is four students, two of whom must reside in or be eligible to attend public high school in Maryland's 5th Congressional District.
• When can I register and how can I submit my entry?
  • Participating students must first confirm eligibility and register at StudentAppChallenge.house.gov. Beginning on February 1^st, students can create an account on ChallengePost.com and submit an entry for the House Student App Challenge.  All entries must be an original in concept, design and execution.
• When will the contest occur?
  • Students can register and submit an entry from February 1, 2014 until May 31, 2014. Judging will take place in May and district winners will be posted on House.gov in June.
• What must contestants submit for consideration?
  • Participating students must submit a demonstration video of their app along with a copy of the source code for inspection by the judges.
• How will my app be judged?
  • Apps will be judged based on the following criteria:
    • Quality of the idea, including creativity and originality;
    • Implementation of the idea, including user experience and design; and
    • Demonstrated excellence of coding and programming skills.
• How will the winners be recognized?
  • Winners will be recognized in a congressional district awards ceremony held in the summer of 2014. The winner from Maryland's 5th Congressional District will be featured on Hoyer.house.gov, StudentAppChallenge.house.gov, and the winning app will also be on display in the U.S. Capitol to honor the winners from across the country. 
  • All applicants will be invited to the awards ceremony to meet Congressman Hoyer and receive official Congressional certificates to note their participation.
• Does my app or program need to be fully functional to submit?
  • No.  Each student must submit at least a video that describes a well thought-out idea for an app and some source code that implements the idea to some degree.  The degree to which your app is fully functional will certainly be considered by the judges when selecting a winner, along with the other factors listed above.  
• What if I still have a question that isn't listed on this list of FAQs?
  • Contact stephen.dwyer@mail.house.gov on Congressman Steny Hoyer's staff with any further questions on the app competition for Maryland's 5th Congressional District.