On May 16, 2026, Technovation Girls Minnesota wrapped up its season the way we love most: with girls pitching their ideas live, answering tough questions from judges, and showing the world what 12 weeks of hard work looks like.
Appapalooza is our virtual live pitch showcase, and this year 15 teams completed and submitted their projects for local judging and the Technovation Global competition. Fifteen groups of girls who took an idea, turned it into an app, wrote a business plan, recorded a pitch video, shared their source code, and showed up on a Saturday morning ready to defend it all. That is not a small thing.
This year’s apps covered an impressive range of real-world problems. We saw teams tackling energy conservation through interactive gameplay, building tools to support food and nutrition decisions, and creating safety resources for people who need them most. One team built a solution to help people living with diabetes manage their daily health, and another took on environmental labeling so consumers could make more informed choices. The breadth of what these girls identified as problems worth solving says a lot about who they are and how they see the world.
None of this happens without the volunteer judges who reviewed pitch videos, read through business plans, and showed up to the live event ready to engage. They asked the kind of questions that push participants to think on their feet and take their work seriously. We are genuinely grateful for the time and expertise they brought to this season.
And to the parents and family members who reviewed pitch decks at the kitchen table, and cheered from home during the virtual event: your support shows up in your daughters’ work, even when you don’t see it directly. It matters.
Winners were announced the following day at Code Savvy Celebrate 2026 at Silverwood Great Hall in St. Anthony, where we recognized six regional winners alongside our Spark Scholarship recipients and the broader Code Savvy community.
Congratulations to every team that submitted this season. You built something real, and that will stay with you long after the season ends.
2026 Technovation Girls MN Winners by Division:
Beginner Division
Team: EcoPixels
App: Labelwise
Labelwise is a Chrome extension providing instant transparency for skincare ingredients. Users paste ingredient lists into a side panel to identify harmful substances like endocrine disruptors and flag them as Avoid, Caution, or Safe. It empowers consumers to make informed purchasing decisions without ever leaving their shopping tab.
Junior Division
Team: AV Teens
App: Energy Explorers
Energy Explorers is a game-based app that teaches kids about energy conservation through interactive mini-games. When players have questions, they can tap the app’s built-in AI chatbot for help, making learning feel less like a lesson and more like play.
Team: Team ASARA
App: OASIS
OASIS connects seniors with volunteers for everyday tasks like walking dogs, grocery runs, and tech help. Volunteers earn community service hours while seniors get support, and a built-in AI assistant helps both sides navigate the app and stay safe online.
Team: Living the Sweet Life
App: Living the Sweet Life
Living the Sweet Life is an app that helps kids with diabetes manage their blood sugar through a goal-tracking and rewards system. The idea is simple: hit your health goals, earn points, redeem rewards, and make the day-to-day of living with diabetes feel a little less like a chore.
Team: The Hacktivists
App: NutriSnap
NutriSnap lets users scan a food’s barcode and get a personalized health score based on their own dietary needs, allergies, and goals. Instead of decoding a nutrition label yourself, the app does the analysis and tells you in plain language whether that food actually works for you.
Senior Division
Team: Team T.A.R.A.S.
App: SafeHaven
SafeHaven gives users a real-time picture of safety in their city, pulling together recent crime data, emergency alerts, and an overall safety rating in one place. The goal is to help people move through their community with confidence, knowing what’s happening around them before they head out.