Tt - Time Capsule
Past, Present, Future
T - Time Capsules, Past, Present, Future, Learn how to do things the old fashion way, play old fashion games. Compare tasting treats from scratch and from prepackaged boxes. Make butter and kick the can ice cream, weave, sew and plant a vegetable. Learn
what the present time means and what the future means. Put together personal time capsules to open on a designated date.
This unit does not have many worksheets as most of the activities are hands on and the instructions are supplied in the suggested activities pages.
Preserving The Present Time
One way to preserve the present is create a time capsule. The following ideas will help you design a time capsule.
What is a time capsule?
A time capsule is like a message in a bottle sent forward in time. Messages in the capsule tell our future self what we think was important today.
A time capsule is a sealed container that holds items that tell a story about us at the time we put the capsule together. It is a record of a particular time of our lives to be opened some time in the future. Items of social and scientific interest, as
well as objects of everyday life can be included, such as photographs, clothing, letters, descriptions of current life, newspaper and magazine clippings and postage
Easier definition for the younger child:
A time capsule is a filled container of your choice of items such as drawings, report cards, and other school-days memorabilia. The time capsule is then sealed and not opened until the child’s high stamps.
Sometimes time capsules are buried underground. Sometimes they are placed in the cornerstones of buildings. Today, time capsules are also placed on display in lobbies of businesses, city halls and in trophy cases of schools. Or they may be buried in the
floor, with a plaque that marks the spot.
What is a time capsule made of?
You can create a low-cost make-it-yourself time capsule using a pickle jar or you can purchase a stainless steel sealed container. A waterproof box or jar with a lid and tape and plastic bags to seal items inside. Wrap it with lots of tape and layers of
newspaper to discourage the sneak peek before its due date. On the outside of the time capsule print clearly the date it should be opened. Store the capsule in a dry place and forget about it.
What should I put in my time capsule?
Your photo and age.
Predictions for the future
Painting or drawing of a ‘vision of the future.
Homework assignments and report cards
A greeting card to the future and have everyone sign it.
A small scrapbook of your favorite things.
A small collectible toy like a Hotwheels car or Beanie Baby.
Trading cards, stickers, and candy wrappers.
Items that represent what your life is like. These may also include a videotape or cassette tape you have recorded, and photographs. You can include candy wrappers, school menus, ticket stubs from concerts and sporting events, artwork, baseball cards
and current movie listings. Make sure you include information about who you are and the date and time you sealed the time capsule.
Where do I store my time capsule?
You can bury the time capsule in your yard or place it in your attic or basement. A good location is a dry place, safe from looters, that can be found years later. For children, an extra activity might be drawing a map that shows where the time capsule
is buried in the yard. This will help you locate it in future years.
What is safe to place in my time capsule?
Cotton and polyester.
Properly processed, fiber based, black & white photos.
Archival quality paper with an alkaline reserve of pH 7.5 or higher.
Permalife papers. Use a permanent marker to write with.
Metals such as copper, brass, gold, and stainless steel.
Ceramic and glass.
MVP plastic bags
What should I not include in my time capsule?
Do not include computer disks in capsules sent forward more than a year or two into the future. Floppy disks have a shelf life of only one to two years before the data becomes garbled.
Do not fill the capsule all the way to the top. Only fill it about 80%. The extra room will be for protective packaging.
Don’t add anything made from PVAC, PVC, and polyethylene including plastic food wrap, they will release harmful acids into the capsule as it ages.
Batteries or electronics are not good items to add. They will leak chemicals.
Color photographs and slides can fade even when kept in the dark. They are good for short-term Time Capsules only.
Be sure to deacidify newsprint and other printed documents. This can be done easily be laser copying on archival quality paper (color-free).
Wood, especially oak release harmful gasses.
Rubber can introduce sulfur into the capsule.
Silk, wool, or human hair should be enclosed in a sealed glass vial not capped by rubber or metal but preferably cork or glass.
Past Time Capsules
The first contraption to be called a time capsule was buried by Westinghouse in 1936 at the World’s Fair. It contained poker chips, a light bulb, Mickey Mouse figures, and letters to the future from Albert Einstein, it is to be opened in 6939.
USD 501 Adventure Center time capsule is sealed in cement under dirt in the front lawn of the former adventure center. The time capsule was buried in May 1996 as a way to remember and preserve the 21-year-old multicultural program. The time capsule
includes flags from various countries, maps, logos, recess whistles, children’s projects and teacher identification badges.
The Bradbury Thompson Center at Washburn University includes a time capsule where the public was invited to add small mementoes when the center was built in1995.
Sumner Elementary School students buried a time capsule made from a large pickle jar in 1989 in the front of the school. That was the year the students were celebrating the 35th anniversary of the Brown vs. Topeka Board of Education case. In that 1954
case, Linda Brown had been prevented from attending Sumner, which was in her neighborhood, and was forced to attend an all-black school more than 10 blocks away. The time capsule, which was placed in a concrete cylinder, includes student writings, a
school history, a listing of the school’s principals and teachers, and a book about the Brown case. A bronze plaque marks the spot and instructions to unearth the vessel in 30 years.
A time capsule was buried in 1989 in front of the new addition of the Rossville Grade School. Each class in the school contributed items for the capsule, which is scheduled to be opened in 2039.
The northeast quadrant of the Capitol contains a time capsule marking the 200th anniversary of the U.S. Constitution and it will remain sealed until Sept. 17,2087. Another time capsule in the northwest corner of the Capitol holds another time capsule
celebrating the bicentennial of the United States. It was donated and sealed in 1976 by the Reynolds Aluminum Co., and will not be opened until July 4, 2076.
In 1990 on the 100th anniversary of Dwight D. Eisenhower’s birth a time capsule with Eisenhower memorabilia was placed under the statue of the former president in the second floor rotunda of the Statehouse. It contains letters from Eisenhower’s children
and grandchildren, a handkerchief that Mamie Doud Eisenhower carried on her wedding day, photos of the centennial’s opening day events and copies of news articles about centennial events. It is sealed until Jan. 26, 2090.
Famous time capsules
1939 The World’s Fair Time Capsules’ Contents
Alarm clock, Can opener, Eye glasses, Fountain pen, Electric lamp, Miniature camera, Nail file, Safety pin, Slide rule, Toothbrush, Watch, Mickey Mouse cup, Sears Roebuck catalog, Cigarettes, Baseball, Deck of cards, Dollar bill, Seeds, Holy Bible.
1964 The World’s Fair Time Capsules’ Contents
Plastic heart valve, Transistor radio, Contact lenses, Ballpoint pen, Rechargeable flashlight, Polaroid camera, Freeze-dried food, Birth control pills, Computer memory unit, Electric toothbrush, Electronic watch, Beatles record, Bikini, Filtered
cigarettes, Tranquilizers, Antibiotics, Credit card, Irradiated seeds, Fifty-star American flag.
Where to Get Free Information On Creating Time Capsules
Future Packaging & Preservation of Covina, Calif., offers a free leaflet for preparing items for home or school time capsules, as well as various sized and priced time capsules. Call 1-800-786-6627 or consult its web site at
futurepkg.home.mindspring.com, where you’ll find lots of good advice to get started with your own time capsule.
Comparing Time Capsules
If possible, make two time capsules so you can compare them. Fill one with items from your grandmother or great grandmother. Put items like their old photos, an old piece of costume jewelry, an old envelope or stamp, items that were new in her time.
Fill a second with similar items from your time. How do the boxes differ even though they may be the same.