On June 1, 2001, 1:00 p.m., nineteen fourth graders at Lincoln Elementary and their teacher buried a time capsule, and promised to come back together on June 1, 2051, 1:00 p.m., to dig it up again. The article by Anita Miller provides some general information about time capsules, followed by the story of the Room 24 kids and their capsule.
All About Time Capsules
Story from The Topeka Capital-Journal (Colorado)
By ANITA MILLER The Capital-Journal
"A time capsule is a sealed container holding items that preserve a record of a particular time in history to be opened at some time in the future. Items of social and scientific interest, as well as objects of everyday life are usually included, such as photographs, articles of clothing, letters, descriptions of current life, newspaper and magazine clippings and postage stamps. Time capsules are sometimes buried underground. Some are placed in the cornerstones of buildings, continuing a custom practiced in ancient Egypt and Babylon, where small statues and inscriptions were sealed into temple foundations. 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 marking the spot. Time capsules are created as celebrations for school and business milestones, to commemorate centennials of local or state government, on important anniversaries of churches, for new church or university buildings, for special family reunions, anniversaries and births."
"'This time capsule's going down for HOW long?'" We had been learning about the role of archaeologists in assembling early Wisconsin history. Artifacts they found in the field could reveal just how people had lived. The discussion came around to how modern culture sets aside important items in containers called time capsules. Someone suggested we should do this, too, and we were off and running.
Rather than putting a soda bottle in a hole out back for a couple of years, the kids decided to do it up right. We searched the Internet for ideas and came up with many sources for creating a long-lasting capsule. Classroom committees were set up to deal with 1) the construction of the capsule, 2) the burial site, 3) selecting the contents to become "artifacts", 4) preserving the contents once sealed in the capsule, and 5) promoting and documenting the project.
After numerous sessions throughout the fall and winter, we had a 20x20x24 inch stainless steel box built by Architectural Metals. We narrowed down a list of significant artifacts to stash in the capsule, determined by their importance to our culture in 2001. Madison school district workers dug our hole in the spot we decided would be safe from disturbances for 50 years. We inserted the artifacts in special archival ziplock bags and printed letters to ourselves ("Dear Me,") on acid-free paper. The top was welded on and the oxygen inside was replaced with argon gas.
On Friday, June 1 at 1:00 p.m. we buried the time capsule. It will be lifted up again in exactly 50 years: June 1, 2051 at 1:00 p.m. We have all speculated about our lives during the intervening decades. (There's basically no question about my attendance at the retrieval ceremony...) If we have done a good job of documenting, then there should be a representative group of 61-year-olds returning to the site in fifty years." by David Spitzer, teacher
"Teen" Magazine 6/01
"People" Magazine 5/28/01
"The Madison Times" Newspaper 5/18/01
"Time Magazine Annual"
"Time" Magazine 5/21/01
"Time For Kids" Magazines (variety of issues)
"Umoja" (multicultural publication of Madison) Magazine
"Ebony" Magazine 4/01
"TV Guide" 4/12/01
"Billboard" Magazine 5/12/01
"The Making of Miller Park" (souvenir book about the new (2001) Milwaukee Brewer's baseball stadium)
"The Sharper Image" catalog
"American Girl" (published by Madison's Pleasant Company) catalog
"Ride Guide" Madison Metro Bus Guide
"Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone" book
"Rascal" book: read aloud during the school year
"Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes"
book: read during the school year
"The Calvin and Hobbes Lazy Sunday Book"
popular book of comics
Newspaper ads for Best Buy & Circuit City
electronics stores
Newspaper ads for Cub Foods groceries
2001 Calendar (Air National Guard)
"Harry Potter 2001 Calendar" pad sheets
"Farside"© calendar cartoon sheets (favorites)
(in paper envelope)
Menus from many Madison restaurants
Poster: Mark McGwire of the St. Louis Cardinals, hitting home runs (70 in 1998)
Sports Cards: hockey, basketball, baseball,
football
Postcards
Fabrics: 3 samples from Kathy Sainsbury
of the Lincoln Library (Kente cloth, Hawaiian pattern, Kwanzaa pattern)
Stickers: 
Teletubbies and 
Pokémon
Girls' Stuff: nail polish, lip gloss, hair clips
and earrings
Paper Cranes: 2 individual and a string of
cranes made by teacher Eileen Dawson. (We sent 1,000 paper cranes to the Children's
Peace Memorial in Japan.)
Nancy's Turtle Report
Individual Bags of Souvenirs from
Abi, Sammy, Nancy, Mai, Dena
Hats: 2 sports caps and a fisher hat
Bike Helmet (Mr. Spitzer's)
Tennis shoes (sneakers)
School Supplies (washable markers, highlighter, yellow pencil, fancy pencil, gel pen, scissors, protractor, permanent marker)
Computer Disk
Globe of current political boundaries
American flag (will there be more stars??)
Video: "Fly Away Home" (we watched this one)
2 music CD's: Lil Bow Wow
CD Player: personal player with headphones
Audio Tape, Mini Football, Teck Deck (mini
skateboard) and fake tattoos
"Poo-Chi" virtual pet/ electronic dog
Game: "Connect Four" (popular this year)
Game: "Uno" cards (popular this year)
Scooter: very popular this year; thanks to Ms.
Welles' daughter Sydney for the donation)
Beanie Baby©: "Peekaboo"
born April 11, 2000 (donated by Mr. Spitzer's wife, Chris Felton)
Soda Cans: Diet Coke© (Mr. S's), Mountain
Dew© , 7-Up© and Jolly Good©
Candy Wrappers and Cheetos "Flaming
Hots" (junk food forbidden at snack time during the year!)
Knife, Fork and Spoon
Class Roster of home addresses, phone numbers
and student email addresses (paper env.)
"Lincoln Jazz" song sheet (paper env)
Time Capsule Preparation papers (paper env)
Coins (2000 and 2001), dollar bill and stamps
Photos: 100+ photos of our class, class
activities, the school, the playground (many are in black and white for better
preservation chances)
Letters To Ourselves ("Dear Me"): Descriptions of our current lives in 2001.
Sumner Elementary School (Colorado) students buried a time capsule made from a large pickle jar in 1989 in the front of the school at 330 S.W. Western. 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.
Here is the official site for the U.S. Time capsule project in Arkansas. A national Millennium Monument is being construction near Fort Smith, Ark., and organizers say in it will reside samples of the human experience from the late 20th century and beginning of the 21st century. "Buried beneath tons of earth, concrete and steel (in four separate structures) for 20, 50, 100 and then up to 1,000 years, will be a fully functional and furnished home; motorcycle, automobiles; champagne/wine; appliances, assorted items." Organizers said room for 500 personal time capsules per state will be allotted. The monument will be sealed on July 4, 2001. The American Association for State and Local History located in Nashville publishes a brochure that offers advice on containers and storage procedures. Click here to order a brochure.
The International Time Capsule Society (ITCS) is an organization established in 1990 to promote the careful study of time capsules. It strives to document all types of time capsules throughout the world. The group is headquartered at Oglethorpe University in Atlanta, Georgia. Included at this site is a description of the nine most wanted time capsules that have been lost.
Last update: June 29, 2001
Editor/publisher: Eileen Potts Dawson epottsdawson@madison.k12.wi.us
Webmaster: webmaster@madison.k12.wi.us
