If you are struggling to find an audience, think about what kind you would most like to open. Do you wish your grandparents had left you a time capsule filled with memorabilia and handwritten notes? Does the thought of opening a 150 year old capsule left by someone lost to time long ago thrill you?
If the capsule is for yourself, focus on personal mementos of your life as it is right now. Things like a pair of earbuds you wore every day for 2 years, an old key, or a takeout menu from a favorite restaurant will bring memories back in just a few years. For a time capsule that you plan to pass down to your children or grandchildren, find things that will interest them about your life and your world. Both personal objects of significance to you and your family, like wedding invitations, and things that depict the state of the world, like technology, are good choices. If your capsule is for people in the far future to uncover long after you are gone, focus on the era you are in. Things that may seem to be of little value now may be fascinating to someone in 75 or 100 years.
Toys can change over the years more than you might think, and for a child they can be fondly remembered years later.
Be sure to keep the paper in plastic sleeves to ensure that it is preserved.
These are especially vulnerable to damage, so protect them in special archival sheets if the capsule will last more than 5 years.
If you are out of ideas for what to put in your time capsule, run through your daily activities in your head. What objects do you use? What do you look at? What do you read? Asking yourself these questions can give you many new ideas.
Write the letter as though it were addressed directly to whoever will open the capsule. This will give it a much more personal feeling than a letter that is closer to a list of facts than a piece of communication.
It’s okay to not have a specific date for the capsule to be opened. Maybe you want to open it when you are married or reach retirement.
Keep in mind that a capsule made of cardboard or paper may be completely destroyed by fire, flood, or other natural disaster.
One example of a sturdy home-built PVC container is a PVC tube with an end cap attached with PVC cement and a test cap lid that can be screwed tightly into the pipe. [9] X Research source Consider using desiccant “gel bags”, such as those included in the packaging of electronic goods and in bottles of vitamin tablets. These help to absorb any moisture that may have been present at the time of encapsulation and help to kill microbes that may make some of your items perish.
Be sure to store your outdoor capsule in a place that is safe from development and construction, like just outside a national park or landmark, particularly if you choose to bury it.
Another positive side of underground storage is that it is less likely to be removed or opened early as it might be indoors. Outdoor storage has a better chance of staying in one place.
These above-ground time capsules are called Geocapsules and can provide a further level of adventure to the time capsule experience.
Avoid using ink to mark the outside of a buried capsule. An engraving would hold up best, but weather-grade paint is another good option. Noting these dates on the outside and inside of the capsule creates extra assurance.
Consider writing the location and opening date in your will, or leave a letter with a grandchild containing instructions.
Take photographs of your placement, identify GPS coordinates, and write down all data important for relocating the precise location. Register the time capsule to make it feel more official, and give the capsule a higher chance of being found if all else fails. [14] X Research source
