The NASA International Space Apps Hackathon (Space Apps) is coming to Folsom again. Held annually, the Space Apps hackathon is a free global event happening simultaneously in hundreds of cities around the world. For Sacramento area participants, Granite City Coworking Event Center is the venue for the event. It will Oct. 5 and 6 from 9am to 5pm both days at 795 Gold Lake Drive, Suite 100. Since space is limited and information is provided to participants ahead of time, advanced registration is required through the local page hosted on the NASA website.

Space Apps is an experience where community scientists, coders, technologists, designers, students, artists, storytellers and innovators come together to solve some of our most pressing problems on Earth and in Space. Everyone who registers joins or creates a team. Twenty “challenges” have been created by NASA experts. Teams pick one of them to work on during the weekend. Important to note is that working on any project before the weekend starts will lead to disqualification. A team can also create their own project although it will not be eligible for judging by NASA.

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The NASA International Space Apps Hackathon (Space Apps) is coming to Folsom again. Held annually, the Space Apps hackathon is a free global event happening simultaneously in hundreds of cities around the world. For Sacramento area participants, Granite City Coworking Event Center is the venue for the event. It will Oct. 5 and 6 from 9am to 5pm both days at 795 Gold Lake Drive, Suite 100. Since space is limited and information is provided to participants ahead of time, advanced registration is required through the local page hosted on the NASA website.

Teams can be formed now through Saturday morning Oct 5th. Then everyone gets straight to work on creating solutions. On Sunday the hackathon culminates with team presentations (or “pitches”) that are judged by local business leaders, aerospace experts, educators and investors. Challenges are categorized in three levels of difficulty: Beginner/Youth, Intermediate, and Advanced. The focus of projects ranges from Climate to Medical, Engineering, Games and Art. Results and testimonials from previous years have demonstrated that the most innovative collaboration happens when people of all ages and backgrounds participate. The theme this year is “The Sun Touches Everything.”

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The annual NASA International Space Apps Challenge began in 2012. Since then it has had over 2,400 local events in more than 185 countries. : Initially, “Space Apps” was only about Space Science. Now it has grown to also include Earth Sciences, Arts, and Humanities so people can contribute no matter what their skills or passions.

Ingrid Rosten, local lead for the Folsom regional event says “What I love about this hackathon is bringing the community of all ages together in solving real world and space problems. We need it now more than ever! It’s fun and together we can make a big difference locally and globally.”

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The program is sponsored by Granite City Coworking, CalNY Technologies, The Sacramento Section of the American Institute of Aeronautics & Astronautics (AIAA), Aero Maestro Book Publishing, Technovate Investments LLC, and the Aerospace Museum of California.

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Go to https://www.spaceappschallenge.org/2023/locations/folsom-ca/ for more information and to register for participation. Children ages 12-17 must have a parent or guardian register on their behalf.