A Living Record of Who We Were - and Who We Hoped to Become
As Arizona joins the nation in commemorating America’s 250th Anniversary, this Time Capsule Project invites the public to take part in a once-in-a-generation cultural effort.
Aligned with America250 and AZ250, this capsule will preserve a meaningful snapshot of life in the early 21st century - capturing not only what we made and used, but what we valued, feared, dreamed, and imagined. The Capsule will be sealed in July 2026 to be opened by December 31, 2100.
Why a Time Capsule - And Why Now?
Time capsules are often thought of as historical archives. Ours goes further.
This project is both museum-quality preservation and a future-facing inquiry. By documenting today’s technologies, culture, and social choices, we establish a baseline—one that future generations can use to understand how humanity evolved, what paths we chose, and which decisions mattered most. We also recognize that we don’t know all the answers and so we ask of the future generation,
Were we Correct?
In short: We are preserving evidence, intent, allure, imagination and fun.
We are also using a laser etched nickel alloy file written in English that will preserve its written and graphics for 10,000 years. We call it the “Our Mind File,” which is nano text size that will be read using a microscope when the capsule is opened in the year 2101.
Where will it be on display!
The Time Capsule will be placed inside a Sculpture to be located at the Arizona Heritage Center & Museum, Papago Park, 1300 College Avenue, Tempe, AZ 85288
How You Can Participate?
We invite everyone—individuals, families, educators, artists, technologists, veterans, students, and community leaders—to take part in one or more of the following ways:
Donate to Support the Project
Your contribution helps create a public art sculpture created by a local Scottsdale artist, supports museum curation, archival preservation, education, and the long-term stewardship of the capsule.
Submit an Artifact for Consideration
Objects, documents, photographs, letters, small tools, artworks, or digital materials that tell a story about now.
Suggest an Idea or Concept
Not everything meaningful is physical. Some of the most powerful contributions begin as questions, predictions, or reflections. Let us know your ideas for the Capsule too.
Volunteer to Help Curate
Not everything meaningful is physical. Some of the most powerful contributions begin as questions, predictions, or reflections. Volunteer to review data and information submitted and to curate it for insertion onto the “Mind File.
Our Pillars
The Framework for What We Preserve
The Time Capsule is organized around core pillars that sustain societies. Every artifact or idea is considered through this lens:
Environment & Sustainability
How we cared for - or challenged -our planet
Economy & Work
How people earned, traded, and built livelihoods
Governance & Civic Life
Institutions, media, civic engagement, and public trust
Youth & Education
What and how we taught the next generation
Spirituality, Ethics & Meaning
Values, belief systems, and moral questions
Space & Technology
AI, automation, space exploration, and the tools reshaping humanity