Junk Drawer Competition

If you are a winner, we will contact you directly via email to arrange the shipment of your prize.

To be eligible for judging, you must meet ALL of the following requirements unless otherwise stated:

General Requirements

• You must be registered as a participant for this contest.
• Your entry must be your own original work.
• Your entry cannot have been selected as a winner in any other Hackster contest.
• Your team is no more than 5 members per entry.*

*By entering a submission to this contest on behalf of a team, you acknowledge that you are the designated representative authorized to act on behalf of your team. (See full rules below for details)

Hardware/Software Build Requirements

• Your project must be eligible for one of the prize categories (e.g. Illuminated Interaction, Pop Culture Perfection, Upgraded Gaming)

Project Documentation Requirements

• Your project must include a project name, short project description, cover image, bill of materials (BOM), full instructions, images, and relevant resource files (schematics, code, CAD).
• Your project must be written in English.
• Your project must be submitted by Jan 6, 2026 at 11:59 PM PT.

Your project will be judged according to the rubric below. There is a possibility of earning 100 total points. The judge's vote is final.

• Spirit of the Challenge (25 points)
  Judges are able to decide how much the project has embraced the prize category and overall spirit of the challenge to provide the related amount of points. The amount of points could come from integrating particular features the judge mentioned in the prize category or from a grading scale from the judge assigning different amounts to each applicants project or any other process determined by the judge(s). Additionally, in the spirit of the Junk Drawer Competition, your project should have been created in 2025 (ideally in December). If your project was created prior to this year, you should detail what major changes and updates you made to revive or reimagine your project in the "Story" section of your project.
• Creativity (25 points)
  Your idea doesn’t have to be original, but it should be creative (a fresh take on an old idea is often worth as much as a brand new idea). Adding artistic flairs to the project, making the project look as if it is form the future, using bright colors or other unique materials, and high end photos all go towards earning more creativity points.
• Project Documentation (25 points)
  Judges will look for a fully documented and complete project. Show the journey on how you created your project, including images, screenshots, and/or a video demonstration of your solution working as intended. Ask yourself: “If I were a beginner reading this project, would I understand how to recreate it?”
• BOM, Schematics & Code (25 points)
  Spend the time building out a complete BOM, creating an accurate schemative and well commented code. It is worth big points so do not skip these items.

• $500

• $500

• $500

Step 1: Register for the Contest

• Start by creating a free account on Hackster.io (or sign-in if already a member).
• Register for the contest by clicking “Register as a participant”.

Step 2: Build and Document Your Project

• Build your project according to the submission requirements.
• Document your project build using Hackster’s project template. To create a new project, click “create new project” on the contest page or the “+” symbol in the top right corner of your Hackster page.

Step 3: Review and submit your project

• Review your project and make sure it meets all the submission requirements.
• Upload a previously created project by clicking “add existing project” on the contest page.
• Submit your project by Jan 6, 2026 at 11:59 PM PT by clicking “review and submit project” on the contest page.

Contest winners will be announced on February 6, 2026. The list of winners will be visible on the main page (Contest brief).

You are eligible to enter if you meet the following requirements at time of entry:

• You are at least 18 years of age, or the minimum age of majority in your place of residence at the time of entry.
• You are a citizen of and reside in any country except: Cuba, Iran, North Korea, Syria, Russia, Belarus, Sudan/South Sudan, Yemen, Venezuela, Burma (Myanmar), Libya, Afghanistan, Central African Republic, Palestine, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Iraq, Somalia, Ethiopia, and Russian occupied regions of Ukraine.
• All winners must become verified members.
• You are not involved in the execution or administration of this Contest.
• If selected as a winner you must create an account through our payment vendor The New Money Company of San Francisco, Inc.
• You are not a Hackster, Avnet or Sponsor employee or an immediate family member or household member of a Hackster employee or otherwise engaged in the execution or administration of this Contest.