LAS VEGAS — Middle and high school students from across the valley gathered at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas on Friday for a day of app and game development aimed at jump-starting entries for the 2026 Congressional App Challenge.
Local workshop links students with national program
Organized as “Build the Challenge Las Vegas,” the in-person event brought together representatives from the Congressional App Challenge program, Roblox, UNLV and Nevada lawmakers to offer instruction, feedback and collaboration opportunities. Organizers said the Las Vegas workshop was one of only six such community events happening nationwide this year.
Students worked in teams to brainstorm project ideas that could address real-world problems in their neighborhoods, with mentors helping translate concepts into early prototypes. The sessions were open to middle and high school participants, many of whom had only limited prior experience building apps or games.
“The opportunity for students to come together and to learn, not just from the experts who are here with Roblox and with UNLV and everywhere else, but also from each other is incredibly important,” said Joseph Alessi, director of the Congressional App Challenge.
Why this matters locally
State Assembly Member Duy Nguyen, who represents District 8, attended the event and emphasized its role in expanding pathways to innovation for Las Vegas youth. “Innovation is what drives our economy, drives our future,” Nguyen said, noting local students’ problem-solving talent.
Organizers described the visit as a new approach for the national program: historically run as a virtual, member-hosted competition, this year marks the first time the Congressional App Challenge has traveled to communities specifically to help students begin building entries ahead of the competition’s October deadline.
- Who attended: middle and high school students from the Las Vegas area.
- Partners on site: Congressional App Challenge staff, Roblox representatives, UNLV staff and Nevada lawmakers.
- Purpose: jump-start app/game projects to submit to the national competition.
What students took away
Participants gained practical tips on concept development, basic design and collaboration. Mentors encouraged students to focus on local problems that technology might help solve, and emphasized iterative building over perfection at the prototype stage.
Joseph Alessi said thousands of students take part in the Congressional App Challenge each year, and that the ideas generated at events like the UNLV workshop can be developed over months into functional submissions.
| Partner | Role at event |
|---|---|
| Congressional App Challenge | Program leadership, mentorship |
| Roblox | Technical mentorship and platform guidance |
| UNLV | Host site and local coordination |
| Nevada lawmakers | Support and local outreach |
For students and families interested in entering the Congressional App Challenge, the national program posts rules, timelines and submission guidelines on its official site. The UNLV event was intended to make those initial steps more accessible by connecting students with tools and mentors in person.
As the competition’s October deadline approaches, organizers expect teams that began work at the Las Vegas workshop will continue refining their projects. For many participants, the event was less about immediate competition success and more about learning a development process they can apply in school or future projects.
Coverage of local STEM and education events is evolving as programs like the Congressional App Challenge bring national resources to Nevada communities. The UNLV workshop provided a concrete example of that investment: students left with sketches, ideas and the first lines of code toward apps that may one day serve their neighborhoods.
