Demos¶
There are 3 ways for your hackers to demo their hacks at the end of the hackathon:
- Science Fair
- Presentations
- Science Fair followed by Finalist Presentations
Science Fair¶
This usually works better for larger hackathons, as it helps get through all the projects.
Devpost allows you to create table numbers for all the submissions. It's best to have a printer available, with pre made graphics, to print off table numbers. Scrap paper and a marker will also work just fine.
Set your tables up so it's easy to navigate between them, so judges and hackers can see everyone's projects. The tables can be set up while the hackers are having lunch in another room.
Presentations¶
Presentations are a great way for hackers fo improve their public speaking, as well as have an opportunity to present their ideas in front of an audience. However presentations can take a while, especially with larger hackathons.
Devpost can generate a running order, by looking at the list of submissions. Have somebody in charge of this list, who can call down the next team as another is about to present. Someone else can help the current team get their project connected to the projector.
Key things to note:
- Teams won't necessarily have an adapter for their laptop to connect to the projector
- Presentations might require sound output
- Phone hacks will require a camera or visualiser
- Hardware hacks will require a camera or visualiser
- Some teams will want to display 2 different laptops and switch between them
- Using a microphone can help project the speakers
- Having a timer visible to the speakers is helpful for keeping on time. 2-3 minuted is a good benchmark
- When teams run out of time, organisers should start clapping, which should get the rest of the room clapping
Talk to Will for help planning presentations, and how he can come and help you during your event with some additional equipment!
Science Fair followed by Finalist Presentations¶
Similar stuff as above, but this time the top 5-10 teams are selected from the science fair to do a presentation in front of the rest of the hackers. You can give the finalist 3-5 minutes, with some Q&A from the judges. You can calculate your presentation length and Q&A length with 1 minute change over based on the number of finalists and how long you have for presentations.