What happens when you put 75 high school students in a room with laptops, AI tools, and a challenge to build something real? On February 8, 2026, we found out. Purple Horizons partnered with Palmer Trinity School in Miami to run our signature AI Buildathon, and the results blew us away.
The Setup
The event brought together students in grades 8 through 12 from Palmer Trinity School, alongside teams from Ransom Everglades and Gulliver Schools. The premise was simple: real problems, real tools, one day to build something that works.
The challenges weren't hypothetical. They were submitted by parents, alumni, and community partners — including Zoo Miami and the Deering Estate. Students weren't building demo projects. They were solving actual problems for organizations that actually care about the solutions.
The Tools: Gemini, Lovable, and Gamma
We built the day around three AI tools students could pick up quickly and use to produce real output:
- Gemini for research, drafting, and intelligent analysis
- Lovable for building functional web apps without writing code from scratch
- Gamma for rapid presentations and stakeholder-ready decks
By the end of the day, teams had working prototypes — not wireframes, not pitch decks, not PowerPoints. Functional tools.
How It Ran
Teams stepped into the role of real-world problem solvers. Each group received a brief from their partner organization — Zoo Miami wanted tools to improve visitor engagement and education; the Deering Estate had its own set of operational and community challenges.
Students collaborated, debated, built, iterated, and presented. Faculty member Ivan Rico and the Purple Horizons team moved through the room coaching on AI tools and helping teams push past the inevitable stuck moments.
The event concluded with final presentations to a panel of judges composed of parents, board members, and community leaders. One team was selected as the winner for their creativity and problem-solving approach.
