A passion project in coding is a self-directed initiative where you build something meaningful using programming skills. These projects let you explore interests beyond schoolwork, develop problem-solving abilities, and create a portfolio of work. If you start in middle school, you’ll have plenty of time to refine your ideas, expand your skills, and even pivot if needed—rather than rushing to start a project in high school.

What are passion projects for middle school students?

Passion projects are independent learning (or building) experiences where you choose to work on something you truly care about, above and beyond your regular schoolwork. Unlike school assignments, these projects are chosen by you, allowing you to dive deep into a subject while developing creativity, perseverance, and technical skills. In coding, a passion project might be a mobile app, a website, a video game, or an AI tool. The key is to find something that excites you and motivates you to learn more.

Why should I do a passion project in middle school?

Starting a coding project in middle school has many benefits:

• More time to grow: You’ll have several years to refine, scale, and improve your project before high school, making it more impressive.

• Skill-building: Programming is a valuable skill for future careers, and a passion project lets you practice in a hands-on way.

• Stronger college applications: If you continue working on your project through high school, it can demonstrate commitment and innovation.

• Fun and exploration: You get to experiment with different technologies and find out what excites you most about coding.

Now, here are 30 coding passion project ideas to get you started:

1. Develop an interactive storybook

Create a digital storybook where the reader makes choices that affect the plot. Each decision leads to a different path, making it a unique experience every time. You can include animations, sound effects, and illustrations to make the story more immersive. This project will teach you logic structures and user interaction techniques.

• Coding Language/Investment Required: Scratch (beginner) or Python with Pygame (intermediate)

• Suitable for: Beginners and students with basic Python experience

2. Make a personal budgeting app

Design an app that helps users track their income, expenses, and savings goals. Users should be able to input transactions, categorize expenses, and see charts displaying their spending habits. You can integrate features like reminders for bill payments or a savings calculator.

• Coding Language/Investment Required: JavaScript with HTML/CSS or Python with Tkinter

• Suitable for: Students with basic JavaScript or Python skills

3. Create a language learning quiz

Develop an interactive quiz game that helps users learn new vocabulary in a foreign language. The app could include multiple-choice questions, flashcards, and a pronunciation guide using text-to-speech technology. You can also add a scoring system to track progress over time.

• Coding Language/Investment Required: Python or JavaScript

• Suitable for: Beginners

4. Design a weather dashboard

Build a web application that provides real-time weather updates for different cities. Integrate an API to fetch temperature, humidity, and weather conditions from a weather service. You can enhance it by adding a feature to display weather trends over time or suggest clothing based on the forecast.

• Coding Language/Investment Required: JavaScript with HTML/CSS (API integration)

• Suitable for: Students with basic JavaScript skills

5. Code your own virtual pet game

Create a digital pet that users can feed, play with, and care for. Implement timers to simulate real-life needs, such as hunger or sleep, and add animations to make the pet interactive. You could also introduce different pet species and let users customize their pet's appearance.

• Coding Language/Investment Required: Python with Pygame or JavaScript

• Suitable for: Students with basic programming knowledge

6. Program an AI chatbot for homework help

Develop a chatbot that can answer questions on different school subjects. The bot can provide explanations for math problems, summarize history lessons, or define science concepts. You can use a natural language processing (NLP) library to make responses more accurate and intelligent.

• Coding Language/Investment Required: Python (using libraries like NLTK or OpenAI API)

• Suitable for: Students with intermediate Python skills

7. Design a customizable to-do list app

Design a to-do list app where users can add, delete, and prioritize tasks. Add options like color-coding, deadline reminders, and voice input to make it more user-friendly. You can also include a progress tracker that encourages users to complete tasks efficiently.

• Coding Language/Investment Required: JavaScript with HTML/CSS or Python with Tkinter

• Suitable for: Students with basic coding experience

8. Build a music recommendation system

Build a simple AI-powered app that suggests songs based on user preferences. The app can analyze song genres, user history, and ratings to generate recommendations. You can even integrate it with an external music API like Spotify to pull in real song data.

• Coding Language/Investment Required: Python (with machine learning libraries) or JavaScript

• Suitable for: Students with intermediate Python skills

9. Make a virtual flashcard app

Develop a flashcard app that helps students study different subjects. Users should be able to create, categorize, and review flashcards. Add features like spaced repetition, which reminds users to review difficult cards more often. This project is great for reinforcing knowledge in an interactive way.

• Coding Language/Investment Required: JavaScript with HTML/CSS or Python

• Suitable for: Beginners

10. Create a skill-based portfolio website

Create a personal portfolio website that showcases your coding projects, skills, and achievements. You can include sections for project descriptions, code samples, and a blog to document your learning journey. Adding interactive elements like testimonials or a contact form can make the site more engaging.

• Coding Language/Investment Required: HTML/CSS with JavaScript or React

• Suitable for: Beginners and students with intermediate web development skills

11. Design a fitness tracker app

Create an app that helps users track their daily exercise routines, step count, and calories burned. Users can log workouts, set goals, and visualize progress through charts. You can integrate an API for real-time health data from fitness devices.

• Coding Language/Investment Required: JavaScript with HTML/CSS or Python

• Suitable for: Intermediate coders

12. Create a typing speed test game

Develop a web-based or desktop typing speed test where users type a given passage as fast as possible. The program measures typing speed in words per minute (WPM) and tracks accuracy. You can add difficulty levels, leaderboards, and even a practice mode that highlights common mistakes.

• Coding Language/Investment Required: JavaScript with HTML/CSS (for web) or Python with Tkinter (for desktop)

• Suitable for: Beginners and students with basic JavaScript or Python skills

13. Code your own meme generator

Build a web-based meme generator that lets users upload images, add text, and customize styles. Implement drag-and-drop functionality and social media sharing options.

• Coding Language/Investment Required: JavaScript with HTML/CSS

• Suitable for: Beginners

14. Design an automated book recommendation system

Create a program that suggests books based on a user’s reading preferences. Users can input books they enjoyed, and the program will generate recommendations based on genre, author, or similar themes. You can enhance it by adding user ratings and reviews, or even integrating it with an external book API to fetch real-time data.

• Coding Language/Investment Required: Python (with Pandas for data handling) or JavaScript (for a web-based version)

• Suitable for: Students with basic to intermediate programming skills

15. Design a virtual escape room game

Design an interactive escape room game where players solve puzzles to progress through different levels. Incorporate timers, clues, and story-driven gameplay.

• Coding Language/Investment Required: Python with Pygame or JavaScript

• Suitable for: Intermediate coders

16. Make a local event finder

Build a website that helps users find nearby events like concerts, sports games, or community gatherings. Integrate APIs to fetch real-time event data.

• Coding Language/Investment Required: JavaScript with HTML/CSS

• Suitable for: Intermediate coders

17. Code a habit tracker app

Develop an app that helps users build and maintain good habits by tracking daily progress. Include features like streaks, reminders, and motivational quotes.

• Coding Language/Investment Required: JavaScript or Python

• Suitable for: Beginners

18. Make your own text-based adventure game

Create a text-based adventure game where players make choices that impact the story. Implement different endings based on player decisions.

• Coding Language/Investment Required: Python

• Suitable for: Beginners

19. Develop an AI-powered recipe recommender

Develop an app that suggests recipes based on available ingredients. Users can input what they have at home, and the app will generate meal ideas.

• Coding Language/Investment Required: Python with AI/ML libraries

• Suitable for: Intermediate coders

20. Code an online multiplayer tic-tac-toe game

Create a multiplayer tic-tac-toe game where users can play against each other in real time. Add chat functionality and score tracking.

• Coding Language/Investment Required: JavaScript with Node.js

• Suitable for: Intermediate coders

21. Build a budget-friendly travel planner

Design a web app that helps users plan trips within a budget. Include cost estimations, travel tips, and accommodation recommendations.

• Coding Language/Investment Required: JavaScript

• Suitable for: Intermediate coders

22. Create a virtual science lab

Develop a simulation-based science lab where students can perform experiments digitally, such as mixing chemicals or exploring physics concepts.

• Coding Language/Investment Required: JavaScript with 3D libraries

• Suitable for: Advanced coders

23. Program an AI-powered chatbot for mental health

Create a chatbot that offers mental health support by providing mindfulness exercises and positive affirmations.

• Coding Language/Investment Required: Python with AI libraries

• Suitable for: Intermediate coders

24. Make a customizable calendar app

Develop a calendar app with features like color-coded events, reminders, and integration with other productivity tools.

• Coding Language/Investment Required: JavaScript

• Suitable for: Intermediate coders

25. Make an AI-powered sentence improver

Create a program that helps users improve their writing by suggesting clearer, more concise versions of their sentences. The tool can highlight complex phrases, offer alternative word choices, and provide grammar corrections. You can start with simple text processing and later integrate AI models for advanced suggestions.

• Coding Language/Investment Required: Python (with NLP libraries like spaCy or NLTK) or JavaScript (for a web-based version)

• Suitable for: Students with intermediate Python or JavaScript skills

26. Design a personalized learning path generator

Create an app that helps users generate customized learning paths based on their interests and skill level. Users can enter subjects they want to learn (e.g., coding, math, history), and the app will recommend structured lessons, online resources, and progress tracking. You can add features like milestone achievements and AI-powered recommendations to make it more interactive.

• Coding Language/Investment Required: Python (for AI features), JavaScript with HTML/CSS (for a web version)

• Suitable for: Students with intermediate Python or JavaScript skills

27. Create a personal mood journal

Create an app that lets users track their daily moods and emotions. Include mood analysis features based on journal entries.

• Coding Language/Investment Required: JavaScript or Python

• Suitable for: Beginners

28. Make a personalized workout generator

Develop a tool that suggests workout plans based on fitness level, available time, and equipment.

• Coding Language/Investment Required: JavaScript or Python

• Suitable for: Intermediate coders

29. Compile an AI-based news summarizer

Build a tool that summarizes news articles using AI, helping users get key insights quickly.

• Coding Language/Investment Required: Python with NLP libraries

• Suitable for: Advanced coders

30. Create a code-to-art generator

Create a program that transforms user-inputted code into generative artwork.

• Coding Language/Investment Required: Python with Turtle or JavaScript with p5.js

• Suitable for: Intermediate coders

If you'd like to work on the passion projects in a structured manner, check out the programs below -

1. Veritas AI’s AI Trailblazers program

The AI Trailblazers program by Veritas AI is a virtual program that teaches middle school students the fundamentals of artificial intelligence and machine learning. Over 25 hours, you will learn the basics of Python as well as topics like data analysis, regression, image classification, neural networks, and AI ethics.

Students learn through lectures and group sessions with a 5:1 student-to-mentor ratio. Previous projects done by students have included building a machine-learning model to classify music genres and creating a machine-learning algorithm to provide a custom list of educational resources based on selected specifications.

Check out their website here.

2. The Lumiere Junior Explorer Program

The Lumiere Junior Explorer Program is a program for middle school students to work one-on-one with a mentor to explore their academic interests and build a project they are passionate about. Our mentors are scholars from top research universities such as Harvard, MIT, Stanford, Yale, Duke, and LSE.

The program was founded by a Harvard & Oxford PhD who met as undergraduates at Harvard. The program is rigorous and fully virtual. We offer need-based financial aid for students who qualify. You can find the application in the brochure! To learn more, you can reach out to our Head of Partnerships, Maya, at maya.novak-herzog@lumiere.education or go to our website.

Multiple rolling deadlines for JEP cohorts across the year, you can apply using this application link! If you'd like to take a look at the upcoming cohorts + deadlines, you can refer to this page!

Stephen is one of the founders of Lumiere and a Harvard College graduate. He founded Lumiere as a PhD student at Harvard Business School. Lumiere is a selective research program where students work 1-1 with a research mentor to develop an independent research paper.

Image Source - Veritas AI Logo