This is probably as close to time travel as most of us will ever get: The College of Liberal Arts and Sciences is requesting ideas from alumni, students, faculty, and staff for items or memorabilia to be placed in the Lincoln Hall time capsule during the building’s open house in 2012.
The person or family with the most popular idea—as chosen by a vote of alumni—will be invited to install the time capsule during the Lincoln Hall Open House at Homecoming in 2012. The building has been closed for major renovation since 2009 and is scheduled to reopen for classes in fall 2012.
Even if your idea isn’t selected as the favorite, it still may be included in the Lincoln Hall time capsule.
A time capsule is a container filled with items, memorabilia, letters, or messages that indicate what life was like at the time it was sealed. Entrants are encouraged to be creative—there’s an endless variety of acceptable ideas, although size may be a factor.
“We’re happy to give people a say over what goes into the time capsule,” says Matthew Tomaszewski, associate dean for administration in LAS, who has overseen many aspects of the renovation. “It’s just a fun opportunity that hopefully people will take advantage of. We’ve always seen Lincoln Hall as a bridge between eras and academic disciplines, and we want that to continue.”
As you think of ideas, please keep in mind a few guidelines:
- Keep away from ideas that could soil other contents. That includes food items, plant matter, liquids, and batteries.
- Remember that technology will be greatly advanced by the time the time capsule is reopened. CDs and DVDs will likely be obsolete, and any magnetic recording will be erased by time.
- Documents should be on acid-free paper.
Once the time capsule is set in place, it will remain there for an indefinite time until opened by some future generation—perhaps the next time Lincoln Hall is renovated.
You can view frequently asked questions and submit an idea for the time capsule online at www.lincolnhall.illinois.edu/timecapsule. Submissions are due by May 21, 2012.
