Details and additional Information
Time Capsule Project has suggestions for your Time Capsule, we recommend to follow them in order to make a successful time capsule and extend its life to the maximum.
If your are not going to use Nitrogen we recommend to store the contents and close the time capsule a day with dry and cold weather. You may also want to put a small silica gel bag (or similar desiccant) inside, to further reduce the humidity.
What can we put in our Time Capsule to preserve for the future?:
- Essays
- Soccer ball
- Photos
- CDs with documents, pictures and audio files
- Tennis racquet
- Lock of hair
- Golf stick and balls
- DNA analysis
- Scientific magazines
- Predictions about the future
- College marks
- Genealogical tree
- Invoice of your time capsule
- Supermarket product list
- Phonebook
- Calendars
- Business cards
- Bills and coins
- Car sales brochure
- Family pictures
- Legal documents
- Diary
- Biographies Books
Preserving Paper, Newspapers & Other Documents:
Since newspapers are made of highly acidic paper and deteriorate so quickly, you should always photocopy the information you want from them onto acid-free paper. You can then store the original paper in an acid-free box, or mount clippings in an archival scrapbook.
It is best to store paper items flat, rather than folding and unfolding, which can lead to creases and tears. Seek the advice of a paper conservator, if any trouble is encountered when unfolding or unrolling an object.
Verdict: always make sure to use acid-free paper and never use metal clips or fold the paper.
Some information was extracted from http://loricase.com/faq.html and http://loc.gov/preserv/care/paper.html
Tips files & links:
8 tips on building a Time Capsule (PDF). Oglethorpe university.
Wikipedia definition for Time Capsule
International Time Capsule Society
Library of Congress - Preservation