Congressional App Challenge

Each fall, a nation-wide middle and high school STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math)—competition is sponsored by the Members of the U.S. House of Representatives. The Congressional App Challenge is an opportunity to recognize and encourage the STEM talent across the nation, as well as in our Congressional District.

Congressman Kennedy enthusiastically invites all middle and high school districts in Utah's Third District to participate. The winning app of our district's competition will be displayed for one year in the U.S. Capitol, a Copyright Fee Waiver provided through the ARTS Act, their app featured on the Congressional App Challenge webpage, and an invitation to attend a winner's celebration inside the U.S. Capitol called #HouseOfCode.

Eligibility Criteria:

AGE: Students must be in middle school or high school on October 30th, 2025.
LOCATION: Students are only allowed to compete in a Congressional District which is hosting an App Challenge. Students may compete in either the district in which they reside, or the district in which they attend school. Participants may compete only in one single district. There is no citizenship requirement, but all students competing in the Congressional App Challenge must be U.S. residents.
TEAMS: Students can compete as individuals, or in teams of up to four (4) students.
- ○ Any team with more than four (4) students is not eligible to compete.
- ○ At least half of teammates on any team must live or attend school in the
  same Congressional District.
PRIOR PROJECTS: Students may submit any app they've created after the previous year's contest
ONE ENTRY PER PERSON PER YEAR: Students may only submit ONE app per
year. Multiple entries across multiple teams is not allowed.

App Parameters:

TOPIC: The app can be about any topic.
PLATFORM: The app can be on any platform (web app, desktop/PC app, a web
browser extension, robot, Ruby on Rails, mobile, etc).
PROGRAMMING LANGUAGE: Use any programming language: C/C++, Objective C, C#, Java, JavaScript, Python, Ruby, PHP, Swift, "block code", etc.
FUNCTIONALITY: The app must have some degree of functionality to be competitive.
ORIGINALITY: The app must be original and solely owned by the Contestant such that no other party has any rights or interest, whether known or unknown.

Important Dates:

May 1st: Congressional App Challenge officially launches
October 30th: Student Applications close
December 31st: Winner announced
January 15th: The Congressional App Challenge will make the National Winners Announcement

If you would like more information on the annual Congressional App Challenge, or to register and submit, please click here.