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Time Capsule
Part of my
project involves the burying of a time capsule with messages
of peace to the future. Below is an excerpt from the letter
I wrote to place in the time capsule. My letter describes
the contents of the capsule, and also expresses hopes for
world peace in the future.
...
This capsule was made
possible by generous material and labor donations from
O&G Construction, Torrington Supply Co., Mega Machinery
Co., and the Town of Plainville. The interior pipe is
made of polypropylene, and had an estimated material
value of around $500 including the pipe ends when the
capsule was buried. The exterior pipe is made of PVC
sewer pipe, which was in use throughout the United
States in 2005. The estimated material value of the PVC
pipe at the time the capsule was buried was about $25
including the pipe ends.
The dual pipe design of the capsule was selected with
the hope that the exterior pipe will protect the capsule
from freezing and thawing and other environmental
dangers, while the interior pipe will protect the
capsule against acids and other harmful chemicals
released by the less stable PVC outer pipe. The
polypropylene inner pipe was selected because of its use
across the United States as a suitable material for acid
drain pipes.
Inside the capsule, you will find many documents and
personal hopes for peace in 2055. All documents have
been placed in Avery DiamondView Sheet Protectors as an
additional form of protection from moisture. These sheet
protectors are made of polypropylene, just like the
inner pipe, and were considered to be safe for long-term
archival in 2005.
You will also find three miniature DVD discs in this
capsule. Each is contained in a plastic jewel case, and
held shut with clear packaging tape. DVDs were, in 2005,
the newest format for storing both electronic computer
data and videos. The discs in this capsule are 80mm in
diameter. Most DVDs in 2005 were 120mm in diameter. The
80mm discs were selected for the capsule because the
120mm discs would not fit in the limited space of the
inner polypropylene pipe.
The jewel cases containing the discs were labeled in
blue permanent ink on August 10, 2005 to show the
contents of the discs they held. Should the ink wear
off, a description of the discs' contents is below.
There are two types of DVD discs in this capsule. While
physically the same (all are DVD-R recordable discs),
they were meant for playback/reading in different types
of devices. DVD-Video discs should be playable on nearly
all DVD players made after 2004, and around 98% of
players made before that. Other discs were meant for
reading on a computer.
Disc in orange jewel case: DVD-Video - Contains a 10
minute time-lapse video of the first day of work on the
site of the peace garden at the Plainville United
Methodist Church. The people in the video are primarily
volunteers from Boy Scout Troop 30. The 10 minute video
shows around 4 hours of work in fast-motion, around 25
times actual speed.
Disc in blue jewel case: DVD-Video – Contains three
videos, including the history of the Plainville United
Methodist Church, video of the Plainville United
Methodist Church’s 40th Anniversary Celebration, and a
recording of the dedication ceremony for the Peace
Garden. When played on a DVD player, this disc should
display a menu. Using the DVD player’s remote control,
you can select the video you would like to see, and then
press the Play or Enter button to see it.
Disc in purple jewel case: Data DVD – Contains
electronic copies of everything contained in this
capsule, a Microsoft PowerPoint XP (a.k.a. PowerPoint
2002) file used to present the project to the church,
and an archived copy of the project website. Electronic
copies of the time capsule contents are in the following
formats:
• Messages of peace to the future are scanned images
saved as BMP (uncompressed), and JPEG (the standard for
most images in 2005).
• Other documents (project proposal, speeches, etc.) are
saved in both Microsoft Word XP (a.k.a. Word 2002)
format, and Adobe Acrobat PDF format. Any of the many
available PDF readers should be able to read the PDF
files. Any version of Microsoft Word since version 1997
should be able to read the Microsoft Word files
• The website is stored in HTML format. HTML stood for
Hypertext Markup Language and was the standard for
websites in 2005.
It is necessary to find a computer to with the correct
configuration in order to read the disc in the purple
jewel case. Most Microsoft Windows-based computers from
between 1997 and 2006 should be able to read the disc so
long as they are equipped with a DVD-ROM drive and the
software described above.
The exact contents of the capsule follow:
• 3x5 handwritten notecards with messages of peace to
the future
• Letter from CT Governor Jodi Rell (2005- )
• Letter from Plainville State Representative Betty
Boukus
• Copy of the proposal for this project
• Copy of the speech used to present the project to the
congregation
• Copy of the bulletin from the dedication ceremony for
the peace garden
• Plainville, CT “Great for a Break” brochure
• Tomasso Nature Park brochure
• 2003-2004 Plainville brochure from Chamber of Commerce
• Plainville demographics information
• 3 DVD discs in plastic jewel cases
• This letter
• Several packs of silica gel desiccant
Should any of the contents of this capsule become
damaged over time, a copy of all materials was filed at
the Plainville Historical Society in mid-August 2005.
...
The capsule is scheduled to be
opened in spring 2055. |
