July 4th, 2026 is a huge and important milestone for all of America! It is the America’s 250th birthday. The country will commemorate this moment by burying a time capsule in Philadelphia’s Independence Hall. The time capsule will then be buried out dug up by future Americans from 2276 to take a small peek at what life was like for people in 2026.
This event was one of the most important holidays for American’s. Therefore, all the 50 states, territories and many organizations participated by giving one meaningful items to put into the time capsule. An example of the items given was from Puerto Rico, which gave a pin of their Coat of Arms. Out of 222 artifacts inside of the time capsule, an impressive ammount of 130 items were given by Utah. There were also many organizations, such as the National Hockey and the National Football League and more. The National Football League gave an America 250 Coin that was used for the 2026 coin flip. Gathering all the items to put into the time capsule was already quite difficult. But the real challenge was how to preserve all the artifacts inside of the time capsule.
This enourmous problem was handed over to Mike Berilla, Asia Robertson, Jay Nanninga, and Sarah Reeves from the National Institute of Standards and Technology. They took a careful 10 years of careful planning and building the 1-ton pound time capsule. Jay Nanninga said “The killer of time capsules is water”, noting that any kind of liquid could result in dust on items that are meant to tell a story from the past.
Their design strategy was to use stainless steel and soft metal to fill in the tiny gaps for water. These two materials were made into a cylinder because cylinders are less likely to have cracks along the edges. This was the design for the actual time capsule, which weighed only 900 pounds. Inside of the time capsule, there were many shelves to put papers and pictures on. They also built an outside shell using the exact same material. This shell is called a bell jar, which is used to create a tight air pocket that will block the water from seeping in. This bell jar weighs over 1,100 pounds. The capsule was then buried ten feet underground. The spot is marked by sculptures or segmented snakes inspired by the cartoon “Join, or Die.”
When the time finally comes to open the time capsule, the future Americans will see a letter by Mike Berilla. The letter says, “Greetings from the living, breathing hearts and hands of 2026. We will have long since returned to dust, but our devotion, pride, and unwavering hope for what our world could become are alive right here inside this steel. We built this for you.”.