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The Date 11.06.2026
8:30am-6pm Museum of Science
1 Science Pk, Boston, MA 02114

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High School Hackathon for Next-Gen Product Creation!

The Possible Zone’s inaugural annual Hackathon, FastForge, offers Boston area high school students the chance to engage in a mini physical consumer product launch, reflecting our 6 month post-high school Launch program. Throughout the day, students will collaborate in teams with corporate volunteers to research, ideate, design, prototype and pitch the next hot consumer product. The Hackathon adopts a science-fair format, with judges and investors circulating among the teams to hear pitches and ask questions. At the end of the day, the top three teams will present in the finals, where the full audience will vote to choose the winner.

Adding to the excitement, our current cohort of Founding Associates, who just completed the 6-month Launch program, will showcase their recently launched Kickstarter products and provide updates on their company success. This event will inspire high school students by demonstrating what’s possible at The Possible Zone! View last year’s video

Sponsor Our Students Join us Photo Gallery

The Possible Zone’s mission is to advance economic equity by ensuring young people develop the entrepreneurial spirit, skills, and networks to launch successful careers.

About TPZ Ventures

TPZ Ventures is the revenue-generating arm of The Possible Zone (TPZ), providing Boston area high school and post-high school youth with hands-on business experience. Launch, TPZ Ventures’ 6-month physical consumer product incubator, develops TPZ alumni and other young adult associates from the community into co-founders. As part of the program, each Founding Associate researches, ideates, and brings to life a new consumer product in a competitive, collaborative sprint to $1,000,000 of gross sales. Participants learn Product Management, Digital Marketing, and E-Commerce Operations under the guidance of TPZ Ventures’ experts. Graduates of the Launch program emerge with a skill set aligned with careers of the future and are well-positioned to advance their business or to work in roles with various industry partners.

About The Location

Located along the Charles River in Boston's West End, the Museum of Science is one of New England's premier destinations for innovation, technology, and discovery—making it the perfect setting for FastForge. Conveniently located just minutes from downtown Boston, the Museum is easily accessible by subway, commuter rail, bus, and car. MBTA Green Line: Take the Green Line (D or E Branch) to Science Park/West End Station. After exiting the station, the Museum is just across O'Brien Highway via the Charles River Dam bridge. MBTA Orange Line: Take the Orange Line to North Station, then enjoy a short 10-minute walk along Nashua Street to the Museum. Commuter Rail & Amtrak: Arrive at North Station, then walk approximately 10 minutes to the Museum. Amtrak travelers may also arrive at Back Bay or South Station and connect via the MBTA. Parking: On-site parking is available in the Museum of Science garage at 1 Science Park. Parking is first-come, first-served, and visitors are encouraged to arrive early on weekends and other busy days. The garage includes accessible parking and EV charging stations.

Museum of Science, Boston Public Science Common
1 Science Pk
Boston, MA 02114

Schedule More details to come

Part One

8:30 AM
Breakfast and check in

9:00 AM
Kickoff and opening remarks

9:30 AM – 12:30 PM
Research, ideation, product concept and product name

Part Two

1:00 – 3:30 PM
Prototyping, branding and pitch creation

Part Three

3:30 – 4:30 PM
Semi-final pitches with judges circulating between groups

Part Four

4:30 – 6:00 PM
TPZ’s Founding Associates reveal Kickstarter products

Final 3 Hackathon team pitches with audience voting

Closing remarks

Part Two

1:00 – 3:30 PM
Prototyping, branding and pitch creation

Part Three

3:30 – 4:30 PM
Semi-final pitches with judges circulating between groups

Part Four

4:30 – 6:00 PM
TPZ’s Founding Associates Reveal Kickstarter products
Final 3 hackathon team pitches with audience voting
Closing remarks

Judges

FastForge is excited to welcome an exceptional panel of judges, representing a diverse array of roles, including angel investors and venture capitalists, entrepreneurs, foundation executives, academics, community non-profits, and finance and industry executives.

Sharon Botwinik Executive, Fidelity Center for Applied Technology

Sam Carson Assistant Director of Administration, HMS MEDscience

Joshua Elysee International Marketing Specialist, HEYDUDE

Colin Hill CEO, Aitia, AI and Precision Medicine Leader

Stefan Kochi Co-founder & CTO, Paytronix Systems

Mark Levin Chairman Of The Board Of Directors, The Possible Zone

Liz Miranda MA State Senator

Rachel Meyers Biotech Entrepreneur

Richard Marshall VP Business Development, Tool Inc.

Marta McAlister Head of Commercialization & Enablement, ChromeOS|Browser,Google for Education

Susan O’Connor Chief Human Resources Officer, Beam Therapeutics, Inc.

Richard Orsini Director of Industrial Design and Visualization, Sprout Studios

Eileen Rudden Innovation Fellow, Harvard iLab

Brenna Schneider Chief Social Innovation Officer, Ascentria Care Alliance

SueAnn Sheehan Managing Director, Citizens Private Bank

Edward Tepper Biogen Associate, Passionate Startup Builder

Robert Tepper Partner, Third Rock Ventures

Dennis Van Oossanen Former Nike/Converse executive, Angel Investor

Stefan Vitorovic Co-Founder, Biotech Venture Fund

Lucy Wang Senior Director of Product Management, Toast

James Yazbek IT Recruitment & Admissions Manager, Per Scholas

Aidan Yeaw Blockchain/ Digital Assets Executive, Angel Investor, Edtech Impact Investor

Jing Zhao Entrepreneur, Investor, Founder Boston Youth and Arts Innovation

Past Sponsors & Partners

We are grateful to our 2025 Sponsors and Partners

Join Us Come and Join the Movement

Schools

Want to join the Hackathon? To qualify:

You are currently in grades 9-12;
You are currently enrolled in TPZ programming;
Or you are a student at one of TPZ’s partner schools:

New Mission High School; Fenway High School; Another Course To College; Snowden International School at Copley; Codman Academy Charter; Boston Green Academy; Dr. William Henderson Upper; TechBoston Academy; East Boston High School; Charlestown High School; Dearborn STEM Academy; Community Academy of Science & Health; Margarita Muniz Academy; Brighton High School; The English High School; Excel High School; Holland School of Technology; Madison Park High School; Ruth Batson Academy; Lawrence High School; Lowell High School; Brockton High School; Cristo Rey; Saint George Schools (Maine)

To sign up with your school contact us: hackathon@possiblezone.org

Volunteers

Calling industrial designers and marketing creatives interested in guiding teams of students for the day!

Whether you want to volunteer individually or bring a team from your company, we welcome your involvement! Contact us at hackathon@possiblezone.org

Friends, Families, Community

Join us for the reception and help select the winning high school team!
Be among the first to see the consumer products developed in our post high school 6 month program! RSVP

The Possible Zone Works.

Our students tell us what TPZ means to them. And it’s more than just testimonials. Data shows that our program prepares students to be lifelong learners and ready to pursue innovative careers.

Over our first decade, more than 1,000 students in the greater Boston area took part in TPZ programs. Those students who remained with us through their senior years in high school enrolled in college at a rate substantially higher than peers who were not a part of our program; 88% of these TPZ students went on to pursue additional education after high school, with nearly 70% enrolling in a four-year degree program.

By 2026, TPZ will be serving up to 1,000 students annually, strengthened by partnerships with Boston Public Schools, local institutions of higher education, and innovative industry businesses.