myCSUSM
Saturday, April 27, 2024
The theme for this spring's event is Musical Cryptography, inspired by a recently unveiled courageous experience of Dr. Merryl Goldberg, a music professor and performing artist. Thanks to the generous support from our sponsors, the event provides refreshments and meals free of charge for its participants.
Here’s a sneak peek at the flow of the day.
9:00 – 9:30 am Dropoff and Check-in
Breakfast will be available for the participants. Dropoff and parking instructions will be emailed to the participants three days before the event.
9:30 – 10:00 am Opening Session
The event leadership team will welcome the participants and lead them in a large drum circle activity, getting everyone to warm up for a great day ahead and introducing some key concepts of musical cryptography. Participants will be broken into groups for additional ice-breaker activities that create beats as their introductions. Around 10:00 am, a special guest will reveal the messages to be encoded for the day.
10:00 am – 5:00 pm Composition Session
Participants will be working in their designated teams to
- devise creative ways of encrypting the provided messages into music pieces,
- build computer programs to automate any parts or all of the process, and
- prepare an 8-minute presentation to showcase their work in terms of Creativity, Musicality, Cohesive Solution, Collaboration, and Technical Complexity.
A group of tech professionals will be available as mentors to guide the problem-solving process and/or provide technical support as needed. Refreshments will be available throughout the day. Lunch will be served at noon.
5:00– 6:30 pm Finale
Teams will take turns presenting their work to the large group. A panel of tech professionals will serve as judges to evaluate the presented work.
6:30– 8:00 pm Dinner and Awards
Participants will enjoy dinner at 6:30 pm while judges identify winning teams for the following awards:
- First place (each member of the team will receive a $50 gift card)
- Second place (each member of the team will receive a $30 gift card)
- Category Standouts (each member of a winning team will receive a $20 gift card)
Awards will be presented after dinner.
Participants
We are excited to have received over 70 registrations from 18 high schools and four colleges. Here are their grade/academic level breakdowns.
Event Sponsors
Wait List & Questions
Registration is now closed. If you are interested in being placed on the waitlist, please send an email to womenshackathon@csusm.edu
