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Every team that competed at Northland Hackathon 2026 recorded a demo of what they shipped. Click any thumbnail to watch on YouTube, or browse the full playlist. If you're an educator, sponsor, or future participant, this is the most useful artifact of the event.
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Team 2
Paper Sky
Send anonymous, joyful notes into a shared digital sky. Notes appear as floating sticky notes, paper planes, and envelopes.
Try it live ↗
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Team 5
The Detourist
A travel app that maximizes the beauty of getting somewhere — turning the trip into the destination.
Watch on YouTube ↗
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🥉 3rd Place
Team 6
SkillJoy
A skill-exchange platform for college students. Match with peers, teach what you know, learn what you crave — no money, just joy.
Try it live ↗
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Team 9
Desktop Buddy
A desktop tool that shows your Claude Code usage at a glance.
Watch on YouTube ↗
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🥈 2nd Place
Team 10
GrandStory
An AI-powered app that interviews your loved ones and turns their memories into a beautiful, permanent keepsake in just 5 minutes.
Try it live ↗
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Team 11
Happy Tracker
A mood journal that helps you track your daily emotional patterns.
Watch on YouTube ↗
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Frequently Asked Questions
What projects did students build at Northland Hackathon 2026?
14 student teams shipped working projects in 7 hours, spanning AI productivity tools (SpendWise, NoticeAI), creative apps (Paper Sky, Scribbles, GrandStory), mental-health and habit trackers (TouchGrass, Happy Tracker), educational platforms (SkillJoy), travel and urban-exploration tools (UrbanJoy, The Detourist), career and pivot tools (wePivot), and desktop and productivity utilities (Desktop Buddy, Qaver, Enclosed Dog). 2nd place went to GrandStory and 3rd place to SkillJoy.
How long do students have to build a hackathon project?
At Northland Hackathon, teams have 7 hours — from 10am to 5pm CT on event day. Every project demoed in this gallery was built start-to-finish inside that window, with mentor support from engineers at Google, Amazon, Square, DroneDeploy, Optum, and Bio-Techne.
What are some good hackathon project ideas?
The 2026 cohort is a strong reference catalog. Categories that consistently produce working 7-hour demos include AI-assisted productivity tools (budgeting, notifications, transcription), creative web apps with a clear gimmick (anonymous messages, drawing tools, AI interviews), habit and mental-health trackers, location/navigation apps with a twist, peer-to-peer learning platforms, and small browser games. The pattern: pick one tight feature, ship a working demo, skip the rest.
Who won Northland Hackathon 2026?
2nd Place: GrandStory (Team 10) — an AI app that turns family interviews into permanent keepsakes. 3rd Place: SkillJoy (Team 6) — a peer skill-exchange platform for college students. Grand Prize is highlighted on the homepage winner spotlight. Winners are voted on by engineers from Google, Amazon, Square, and other mentor companies.
Want to build the next one?
Northland Hackathon returns in 2027. It is 100% free, fully remote, mentored by engineers from Google, Amazon, Square, and more. Anyone can join — no experience required.