Datathon (CP Mentorship)
A one-day, in-person data science challenge co-hosted by CP Mentorship, Women in Data Science Worldwide, and Silicon Valley Youth at Google's Mountain View campus. High school teams analyze real-world datasets (e.g., wildfire response data) with mentor guidance; open to all experience levels.
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ACE Mentor Program - San Francisco Bay Area
A free after-school mentorship program pairing Bay Area high school students (grades 9-12) with volunteer architects, engineers, and contractors. Teams work through mock building-design projects, visit real job sites and professional offices, and present their solutions at a year-end showcase.
Daydream Silicon Valley
A free, teen-organized weekend game jam in San Jose where participants ages 12-18 design and deploy an original game to itch.io within 48 hours, with no experience required and beginner workshops offered on-site. Part of Hack Club's Daydream network of simultaneous teen game jams held in 100 cities, the event provides meals, merchandise, prizes, and travel reimbursement for those coming from farther away.
Mechanics' Institute San Francisco Scholastic Chess Championship
A free, all-day scholastic chess tournament hosted each spring by the Mechanics' Institute - the oldest continuously operating chess club in the U.S. - drawing 300+ young players from kindergarten through 12th grade to Yerba Buena Gardens in San Francisco. The Institute also runs year-round scholastic classes, school-break chess camps, and free chess instruction for Title 1 San Francisco schools.
ProStart
A two-year, industry-backed culinary arts and restaurant management career pathway for high schoolers, offered through participating high schools nationwide (including California) via the National Restaurant Association Educational Foundation. Combines classroom instruction and industry mentorship with the annual National ProStart Invitational competition.
SFMade FlexFactor
SFMade's flagship in-classroom program where student teams identify a real-world problem, design a hardware-based solution, build a business model around it, and pitch their venture to industry professionals, exploring manufacturing and entrepreneurship career pathways.
UrbanPlan Americas Student Competition
Developed with UC Berkeley's Fisher Center for Real Estate and Urban Economics, UrbanPlan is a project-based real estate development simulation in which teams of high school students act as a fictional developer, balancing budgets, zoning, and community needs to pitch a project for city council approval. Top student teams compete nationally in the UrbanPlan Americas High School Competition.