Minecraft Noteblock Idle Game wins Rep. Jim Banks’ 2024 Congressional App Challenge in Indiana’s Third District
Rep. Jim Banks has named Sampson Shaw, a twelfth grader at New Tech Academy at Wayne High School, as the winner of the 2024 Congressional App Challenge in Indiana’s Third District.
When asked what inspired the creation of Minecraft Noteblock Idle Game, the student said, “I am a huge fan of idle games in general. So when I heard that this project was being rolled out in the classroom, I wanted to put my all into it. My teacher, Mr. Toy, was very generous in allowing me to be flexible with how we complete this project. Instead of using the program and language that we by default were going to use, I thought that it’d be interesting to make it in a completely different way. Minecraft as a game to me is incredibly fun when given a goal among the casual gameplay. Allowing the ideas and thoughts to flow through my brain of how I could pull this off was a fun experience, and I hope that I get another opportunity like this again.
On the idle game side of things, I was inspired by official games like Cookie Clicker, Mr. Mine, and Bloons TD6. I wanted to make sure that the player in some way had to stay active and had something to do while they waited to progress the game, and that’s why I made the Noteblock interactive for the player. Interacting with the Noteblock not only is something for the player to do, but it’s also beneficial to the player’s game progress.”
This year’s Congressional App Challenge set new records, with an unprecedented 382 Members of the House of Representatives hosting competitions—surpassing the previous high of 374. An incredible 12,682 students from across the country participated, representing a growth of over 1,000 students compared to 2023. These talented students submitted an astounding 3,881 original applications, showcasing their creativity, passion for technology, and the limitless potential of America’s next generation of innovators. This surge in participation reflects the increasing excitement around STEM and highlights a bright future for American innovation.
The Congressional App Challenge is an official initiative of the U.S. House of Representatives, where Members of Congress host contests in their districts for middle school and high school students, encouraging them to learn to code and inspiring them to pursue careers in computer science. This resounding show of bipartisan support emphasizes the critical importance of STEM education in today’s rapidly evolving world. Each participating Member of Congress selects a winning app from their district, and each winning team is invited to showcase their winning app to Congress during our annual #HouseOfCode festival.
The program is a public-private partnership made possible through funding from the Broadcom Foundation, AWS, Rise, theCoderSchool, Apple, and others.
The 2024 Congressional App Challenge will launch in May of 2025, and eligible students can pre-register for the competition now.