The 2026 Quantum Shorts is live!
Welcome to the 2026 Harvard Quantum Shorts Contest!
This year, we are thrilled to introduce a brand-new format that gives you the chance not only to share your passion for quantum science, but also to help shape how others learn it. In tandem to creating a short video on a quantum topic of your choice, we invite you to pitch an idea for a simple, portable interactive demo or kit that could bring that concept to life for both students in your school and for students around the world. Finalists will have the exciting opportunity to collaborate with members of the Harvard community to develop their ideas further and — logistics permitting — will be invited to visit Harvard’s cutting-edge quantum research facilities and help launch the kits they helped inspire.
Because we want finalists to be able to bring the kits they help develop back to their schools and communities, applicants must remain enrolled in high school or an equivalent program through the end of 2026. For US applicants, this means you should currently be in grades 8–11 and entering grades 9–12 in Fall 2026. Questions about eligibility can be directed to hqi.blog@gmail.com.
We welcome applicants of all backgrounds and experience levels. Even if this is your first time encountering quantum science, we encourage you to participate. To get you started, we've written a few introductory articles on fundamental quantum science topics in our Quantum Explainers Series. Seeking inspiration? Check out our Get Inspired! page and Past Finalists & Examples page.
Entries will be evaluated by members of the HQI Blog which includes graduate students, postdoctoral researchers, staff and faculty affiliated with the Harvard Quantum Initiative (HQI). Finalists will work remotely with members of the Harvard community to develop their proposed kits into real educational tools. If logistics permit, finalists will then be invited to travel to Cambridge to help launch the kits they helped bring to life.
We deeply value the time and effort that all participants have invested in creating their video submissions. To recognize this, we are pleased to announce the launch of a Virtual Open House event, open to everyone who submits a video*. The date of virtual open house will be announced after the contest submission deadline and once the program is finalized. The virtual open house will include a chance to ask questions to the Harvard blog team and we're working on some fun suprise components!
*To be eligible for the Virtual Open House, participants must meet all eligibility requirements for the Quantum Shorts Contest and submit a good-faith entry to the contest by the deadline of June 14, 2026. AI generated content will be disqualified.
Entries must be submitted as a link to a YouTube video. If you do not have access to YouTube, you may submit your video by email instead. Videos must be publicly accessible, and submissions may be made individually or in groups of two. To submit, please visit the Submission page.
Your video should both explain a quantum concept of your choice and pitch an idea for a simple, portable interactive kit, demo, or resource that could help others understand your topic of choice. We encourage ideas that are creative and engaging, but also limited in scope and realistic to develop collaboratively after the contest. In your video, please make sure that you (1) explain a quantum concept of your choosing, and (2) pitch an idea for an interactive kit, demo, or resource that could help people understand that concept.
Video Guidelines: submissions must not exceed 2.5 minutes (150 seconds) in duration. We recommend spending approximately 1.5 minutes on the concept explanation and 1 minute on the interactive resource pitch. All submissions must be in English.
Deadline:
June 14, 2026, 11:59 PM AoE (Anywhere on Earth).
As part of this new format, we plan to spend the three months following finalist selection working with finalists to develop their ideas into real educational tools. During that process, we expect to create prototype versions, send them to finalists for testing and feedback, and refine them together. We would also welcome the involvement of a finalist’s teacher, if they are interested, particularly in considering how the demo might be adapted for use in their classroom.
Finalists should expect a modest time commitment following the contest. During the kit development period, from August through October, we anticipate meeting remotely with finalists on a few occasions to discuss their ideas and review progress. The primary work of developing the kits will be carried out by the HQI Blog team and collaborating Harvard students, including graduate students and undergraduates. The primary role of each finalist will be to test prototype versions of their kits and provide feedback to help refine them. We expect this process to be collaborative and manageable alongside school-year responsibilities, while also allowing interested finalists to take on a larger role in the development process.
Because this year’s program is focused on interactive kit development, we are especially looking for videos that introduce original, engaging ideas for tools that could be developed further into demos with the HQI Blog team. These might include visual props, creative audio analogies, interactive games, or real or virtual experiments. There are no strict requirements for the style or structure of your submission. Below are the criteria our team will use to evaluate all entries.
Clarity:
Make sure that your explanations are clear, concise, and easy to follow. Aim to communicate complex concepts in a way that is accessible to a broad audience, including those without a broad background in science.
Minimize the use of technical jargon or elaborate mathematical equations. Aim for a balance between accuracy and simplicity to make the content accessible to a general audience.
Engagement & Creativity:
Capture the viewer's attention by making your video visually interesting. Will you make an animated video? A white board stop-motion video? These are just a few stylistic possibilities. Consider incorporating interesting visuals to help you explain your chosen topic and keep your viewers engaged.
Feel free to infuse creativity into your video! Whether it's through storytelling, analogies, or visual metaphors, find interesting ways to convey your chosen quantum science topic.
Effective Explanatory Element:
Include a novel element in your video to enhance your explanation. This could be a visual aid like a 3D printed prop, origami, crochet, or drawing. It could be a cool way of using audio to make an analogy to a concept you found interesting. It could be a demonstration of an interesting concept using things from around your home or school. It could be a widget that you coded, or a game or interactive element. We encourage you to be creative here.
The video leaves the viewer excited and offers a direction for engaging others using the visual aid or other creative prop you developed for your explanation.
Stay Within Time Limits:
Keep your video within the specified time limit (2.5 minutes or less). Focus on delivering key information without overwhelming the audience with excessive details.
Show up Authentically:
Show us your unique ideas and perspectives. While you may use generate AI tools to perform research (see), do not use AI generated diagrams or AI voice over.
Cite Sources:
If you draw inspiration or information from external sources, be sure to give proper credit. Include references or citations in the video description or within the video itself.
April 14: Contest opens for submissions
June 14: Submission deadline, 11:59 PM AoE (anywhere on Earth time)
August 1: Finalists announced
August-October: Finalists work with the HQI Blog team to develop and test interactive kits and demos
Early September: Virtual Open House for all eligible participants who submitted an entry
Fall 2026: Finalists may be invited to travel to Harvard to launch the kits and visit quantum research facilities
If you have any questions, feel free to email us at blog.hqi@gmail.com. We look forward to your submissions!