List of time capsules

On 29 September 1896, when the Perth Observatory foundation was laid, the occasion was attended by Sir John Forrest and other notable dignitaries. Several items of importance were placed in a 'leaden box', sealed and deposited in a cavity beneath the foundation stone. The local press reported the event and mentioned here since "Röntgen rays tubes, and a description of the process, together with specimen photographs", donated by X-ray pioneer William John Hancock were included in the cache.[2] This is the first known instance of a time capsule in Western Australia, and in Australia.

Also in Western Australia, in celebration of the laying of the foundation stone of the Northam Railway Institute on 28 July 1897, laid by Mrs. Ann Throssell, the wife of the Commissioner of Crown Lands and local MP George Throssell, a bottle containing two copies of the Northam Advertiser newspaper and several coins was laid in a cavity beneath the foundation stone.[3]

In celebration of its golden jubilee, Epping Boys High School of Sydney buried a time capsule in the foyer of its library, in 2007, to be unearthed in the centenary year. A previous time capsule was buried in 1982 to celebrate the silver jubilee. The town of Cowra in central Western New South Wales contained a time capsule which was buried near a sculpture of an eagle in the park not far from the town's information center. The capsule was opened in the year 2000 on an unspecified date, although the sculpture remains, there is no mention of the time capsule once buried there.

A time capsule is also located at Nailsworth Primary School in South Australia, being planted in 2001 to be opened in 2025, this capsule was planted to replace the 1977 capsule opened the same year.[4] A time capsule is also present on the grounds of Melbourne High school in Victoria.

A time capsule on Canberra's City Hill was unveiled on 11 March 2013 to commemorate the city's centenary. It is to be unsealed in 2113.[5]

On 22 February 2018, the Sunshine Coast Council concluded its celebration of the 50th Anniversary of the Naming of the Sunshine Coast by burying a historic time capsule.[6] The capsule contains a number of reports, documents, and objects from the year previous, and a letter from Mayor Mark Jamieson and 2017 Young Citizen of the Year, Jak Hardy, who was appointed its guardian through to 2067.[7]

• Memory of Mankind in Hallstatt.

In celebration of its 150th corporate anniversary, Bacardi Limited installed a 1.82m x 0.30m stainless steel time capsule, encased in a granite cap and cement pedestal, in front of the Bacardi worldwide headquarters in Bermuda. The capsule was placed in December 2012 and is intended to be opened in 2062, at the company's 200th anniversary.[8]

In Brazil, many institutions have created, independently, their own time capsules, some of which have already been opened for celebrations or historical research purposes:

• In celebration of their 50th anniversary in 1969, the "Movimento dos Bandeirantes" prepared a 1m high bronze cylinder inside, containing objects, documents, messages e many other information about the Bandeirantes of the time. It was buried inside a granit monument, in front of their headquarters. The time capsule was opened on Aug 13th 2019, during a ceremony with more than 1.000 people from all regions of the country, who came to Rio de Janeiro to celebrate de 100th anniversary of this youth focused movement. [9]
• In Apr 3rd 1922, a metal box was buried on a yard of the 3rd Anti-Air Artillery Group (3º GAAAe), in Caxias do Sul/RS. The time capsule, containing historical documents such as old newspapers, official Army reports and coins, was restored by the Universidade de Caxias do Sul (UCS) and given back to the Brazilian Army. The existence and location of the box was discovered 100 years after the burial, when Corpoal Glauber Tiago Dal Paz found a reference to it in a book. He was doing a research on the artillery unit's history for the centenary celebrations.[10]
• In May 30th 2013, a group of students of the Colégio Setor Leste, in Brasília/DF, built a time capsule to keep writings of dreams and wishes of employees and alumni of the school, during its 50th anniversary. The box is supposed to be opened 35 years later, in 2048.[11]
• During the preparations for the 2016 Olympics, a time capsule was unearthed in a construction site, at Rio de Janeiro's docking area. It contained letters from the Brazilian Empire's time. [12]
• Another time capsule, with documents from the Brazilian Empire's period, was found in Alcântara/MA. It contained letters from local nobles regarding the Emperor's visit to the city. [12]

• On July 26, 1830 a formal procession and ceremony took place to deposit coins and bottled newspapers into a carved hollow of the cornerstone of the new courthouse building at Harbor Grace, NL. Witnessed by more than 1000 residents and dignitaries, several symbolic items (corn, oil, wine) were poured over the stone.[13] The Harbour Grace Court House is the oldest surviving public building in Newfoundland and one of the National Historic Sites of Canada.
• The British Columbia Time Capsule in Victoria, British Columbia. Built near the Confederation Garden Court adjacent to the provincial Parliament buildings on December 31, 1967, it is set to be opened 100 years later as part of what will be Canada's bi-centennial celebrations.
• A geologist left a bottled message in 1959 in a cairn on Ward Hunt Island (83°N latitude), allowing its finders in 2013 to determine that a nearby glacier had retreated over 200 feet in 54 years.[14]
• Inside the head of the World's Largest Axe in Nackawic, New Brunswick.[15]
• 6 Feet underground in the Chinook Centre in Calgary, Alberta; to be opened on December 31, 2999.[16]
• 1234 Main Street, Moncton, New Brunswick
• Inside Joseph Salter memorial, Main Street, Moncton, New Brunswick
• Inside the CN Tower, in Toronto, Ontario. To be opened at the 100th anniversary in 2076.[17]

• A privately funded time capsule, buried in front of the former city hall of Puerto Montt in October 2010, to be opened by February 2053.
• The Cápsula Bicentenario (Bicentennial Capsule), a publicly funded capsule created to conmemorate the 200th anniversary of Chile, was buried on 29 September 2010 at the Plaza de Armas in Santiago. It is set to be opened in 18 September 2110.[18]

• Normandy American Cemetery and Memorial.

• Erected in 2014, the monument is located in Reykjavik, Iceland, has of three differently shaped 15 feet tall spires, two made of stone and one metal center pillar.[19]

• Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi had buried a time capsule outside one of the gate of Red Fort complex,The Indira Gandhi government named this time capsule "Kalpaatra", Delhi containing post-independence history of India on 15 August 1972 amid political opposition. It was scheduled to be opened after 1000 years. The next Janata government unearthed it in 1977 but its contents were never made public and were lost.[20][21][22][23]
• A time capsule was buried in the presence of the President of India near the auditorium of IIT Kanpur on 6 March 2010.[24][25]
• Mahatma Mandir, Gandhinagar containing the history of Indian state of Gujarat marking the 50 years of its foundation. Installed in 2010.[26][27]
• Alexandra Girls' English Institution, a school in Fort, South Mumbai buried a time capsule in 2014, scheduling it to be opened on 1 September 2062, on the bi-centennial anniversary of the school.[28]
• Under the flag holding of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, a time-capsule was buried in the premises of Lovely Professional University, a University located in Jalandhar, Punjab on the second day of Indian National Congress dated 4 January 2019. The occasion was attended by Nobel laureates, including biochemist Avram Hershko and physicist Duncan Haldane. They lowered a 8x8 time capsule-box made of aluminium and wood with a glass door.10 feet into the ground. A smart phone, landline telephone, VCR, stereo player, stop watch, computer parts like hard disk, mouse, laptop, central processing unit, a motherboard, hard disk with the latest documentaries and movies, a camera, science-text books and scientific equipment like rheostat, refrectorscope and double microscope are some of the things that will remain buried for 100 years. The area where the capsule has been buried would be cemented and earmarked.
• On 26th January 2021, 1.5 tonne time capsule encapsulating the history of Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) history spanning over a century was buried 30 feet deep in the park opposite Victoria Gate during Republic Day celebrations to mark the university’s eventful centenary year on Tuesday.

• To commemorate 70th anniversary of Indonesian independence, a time capsule is buried in a square of Merauke, Papua in 2015, near Mopah International Airport. Inside the capsule are "the dreams and hopes" of the childrens of Indonesia for the next 70 years, planned to be opened in 2085. Merauke Time Capsule Monument is built upon the buried capsule, it was inaugurated on 16 November 2018.[29]

• A time capsule was installed under Eretz Israel Museum in Tel Aviv at 30 December 1999. It is scheduled to be opened 100 years later.

• In Aktau, people of 1967 sent a message showing the chronology of the development of Mangyshlak Peninsula with the names of the people who helped to build the town in the desert. The letter was put in a metallic cylinder in a triangular marble urn. It opened in November 2017.[30]

• In 2019 a time capsule was commissioned by Kuwait Institute for Scientific Research to observe the grand opening of the Shagaya Renewable Energy Park. It is scheduled to be opened in 2061 when the State of Kuwait celebrates its centenary.[31][32]
• On 15 December 2013, a time capsule was buried in the garden of the English School, Kuwait to commemorate the school's 60th anniversary. It is to be opened in 2073.[33]

• Rotary Club Time Capsule Monument (GPS: 3.15912, 101.69825) is a commemorative monument along Jalan Sultan Ismail in Kuala Lumpur. It was originally located at Dataran Merdeka, but was relocated to Jalan Sultan Ismail around 2016. It comprises a stainless steel column topped with a Rotary International logo. At the base is a black marble-encased pedestal under which a time capsule is buried. The monument was erected to celebrate the presence of Rotary in Malaysia since 1929. It was officiated by the mayor of Kuala Lumpur, Tan Sri Dato' Kamaruzzaman bin Shariff, on 26 June 2000.

• On 17 September 2017 near the Polish Polar Station, Hornsund in the Norwegian Svalbard archipelago, scientific researchers buried a 60-centimeter stainless steel tube containing samples designed to tell finders as long as half a million years into the future, about the current state of knowledge in such areas as geology, biology, and technology.[34]

• Prisoners from the Auschwitz concentration camp concealed bottles containing sketches[35] and writings[36] that were found after World War II.
• In 2016, a copper-cylinder time capsule dating to 1934 was found beneath the former Nazi training facility in the Ordensburg Krössinsee building in Złocieniec, Poland.[37] The time capsule, which contained photographs, newspapers, coins, and two copies of Hitler's Mein Kampf, was retrieved by researchers who navigated through thick concrete, German mines, and groundwater.[37]

• In 2012 a time capsule dating from 15 July 1979 was found in Vulkanny (Yelizovsky District, Kamchatka peninsula) under a statue of Lenin. It contained messages to the "socialist society in 2024."[38]

• The oldest known time capsule in Singapore was rediscovered in early 2016, beneath the foundation stone of the Cathedral of the Good Shepherd. The shoebox-sized time capsule from 18 June 1843 was found to include a prayer booklet and newspapers, and international coins.[39] The capsule is thought to have been buried by French Catholic missionary priests and other founding communities of Singapore.[39]
• On 1 April 1937 a capsule containing coins and newspapers from the time was buried under the foundation stone of the former Supreme Court building with the intention that it be opened in the year 3000. The building now houses the National Gallery Singapore, where the foundation stone can still be seen today.
• In 1949 a capsule was buried at Anglo-Chinese School (Barker Road) containing school magazines, a bible and records of major donors. Thought to be lost, the capsule was rediscovered in 2000 with the help of a former student who had attended the burial ceremony.
• A capsule buried in 1950 under the then Royal Island Club (now the Singapore Island Country Club) was thought to be lost but later found by construction workers in 2010. It contained photographs and newspapers.
• In 1970, one of Singapore's founding leaders, Dr Goh Keng Swee laid a copper cylinder containing newspapers and Singapore bank notes from the era, somewhere in the former National Stadium. Unfortunately the location has been lost and metal detectors have failed to find it despite a $50,000 reward on offer.[40]
• Since 1973, Science Centre Singapore has been depositing gadgets and examples of significant technologies in a time capsule inaugurated by then Science and Technology Minister Dr Toh Chin Chye. The first 112 items deposited included a black and white television receiver, a camera and samples of pig feed. After additional deposits were made in 1983, 2001 and 2013 the original capsule was replaced with a larger stainless steel container that now holds over 800 items in an atmosphere of inert nitrogen gas in the hope that this will better preserve the artefacts inside.[40]
• The Jurong Town Corporation buried a time capsule under Jurong Town Hall in 1974. When opened in 2001, the capsule was found to contain reports, articles and photographs illustrating the industrialisation of Jurong.
• In 1975, part of Singapore's contribution to an International Ocean Exposition held in Okinawa, Japan entitled The Sea We Would Like to See was a research project using floating time capsules. The previous year, 50 small round capsules were released from Raffles Lighthouse as part of a global fleet of 2,800 to measure oceanic tides and currents. Each capsule contained information about the Exposition, a goodwill message from a Japanese child and a voucher for a Citizen Blackie watch to incentivise finders to fill in a post card with details of where the capsule were found. 24 of the capsules released in Singapore were later recovered.
• 1990 saw the unexpected unearthing of a time capsule from the 1950s by contractors working at the demolished American Insurance building in Robinson Road. Buried on 26 April 1956, the copper canister contained English and Chinese newspapers, a financial report, photographs, posters and an insurance agent's manual.[40]
• In 2015, a time capsule buried to celebrate Singapore's 25th year of independence was dug up and replaced with one celebrating 50 years as a sovereign nation. The original canister held 88 "symbols of progress" including a video tape of the 1966 National Day (Singapore), water from the Singapore River and the first sarong kebaya uniforms designed by Pierre Balmain for Singapore Airlines in 1968. The replacement capsule, made from stainless steel, was buried by then Deputy Prime Minister Ong Teng Cheong outside Empress Place.[40]
• On 31 August 2005, Singapore Polytechnic buried a time capsule in order to conclude year-long celebrations of its 50th anniversary of its founding in 1954.[41] Located near its main library, it is scheduled to be re-opened in 2029 for its 75th anniversary.[42] Items in the time capsule included staff and student admission cards, a CD of 2004's graduation ceremony and a bottle of locally brewed red wine.

• An 1834 time capsule was discovered in 2009 under a statue of Miguel de Cervantes in Madrid. It contains a guide and four volumes of the 1819 edition of Don Quixote.[43]
• A time capsule was buried in Motril, Granada. It will be opened on 22 July 2023 to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the cantonal movement.[44]
• A 1777 time capsule was discovered within a religious statue in Sotillo de la Ribera (Burgos). It contained two handwritten pages describing details of the political, religious, and economic situation of the region at the time.[45]

• During the inaugural Youth Day event in 2020, K-pop group BTS handed a time capsule to president Moon Jae-in to be opened in the year 2039, during the 20th Youth Day event. It was currently stored in the National Museum of Korean Contemporary History. The purple time capsule contains some of the best memories BTS had during their entire career.[46][47]

• Kingussie, Scotland: in August 2015 workers discovered a metal box containing a newspaper from 29 September 1894, a paper scroll and a bottle believed to contain whisky.[48]
• Newton Aycliffe, County Durham, England: On 21 March 2017 a time capsule bearing the name of its creator, James D Robinson, was 'sealed' at an informal gathering in a local church hall. It was subsequently transferred to the nearby Durham County Record Office, at County Hall, in the City of Durham, where it will reside in their archive facility for the next 300 years. The capsule contains an eclectic mix of texts and images along with a number of artefacts, and is scheduled to be opened on 21 March 2317.
• The children's television show Blue Peter has buried several time capsules during its run. Ones buried in London in 1971 and 1984 were opened in January 2000. A third was then buried to be opened in 2029, and has since been relocated to Salford, Greater Manchester. One was also placed under the Millennium Dome in London in 1998, to be opened in 2050,[49] but was accidentally unearthed and damaged during construction work in 2017. It will be reburied once it has been repaired.[50]
• Southampton, Hampshire: a 1935 message in a lemonade bottle, correctly portending difficult times lying ahead, was found in 2016 by masons restoring damaged Portland stone at Southampton Guildhall.[51]
• Millennium Vault, Europe's largest time capsule was built in 2000 in Guildford, Surrey. The capsule, which contains lots of mementos, is set to be opened in 3000.

• Waynesboro, Virginia. Time capsule for Fishburne Military School to be opened in 2179, the school's 300th anniversary.
• Richmond, Indiana. Time capsule placed in cornerstone of YMCA in 1955.
• On 15 June 1957, as part of the celebration of the 50th anniversary of Oklahoma statehood, a 1957 Plymouth Belvedere car was sealed in an underground vault in Tulsa, to be unearthed 50 years later on 14 June 2007 during Oklahoma's centennial celebration. Several items were left in the car's trunk and glove compartment, such as a 5 US gallon can of gasoline intended to start the car, should gasoline not be the fuel of choice for motor vehicles in 2007. A contest also took place, in which the contestant who came the closest to guessing the city population in 2007, would then be awarded the car and $100 in a savings account.
• Time Capsule in Centralia, Pennsylvania was to be opened in 2016 but was opened in 2014 instead. Within the time capsule was about two feet of water destroying most paper artifacts in the capsule. A miner's helmet and a pair of bloomers signed by the men living in the city at the time are among artifacts that remained.[52][53]
• Crypt of Civilization in Atlanta, Georgia open in year 8113[54]
• Westinghouse Time Capsules in New York City expects to open in the year 6939 [55]
• Helium Centennial Time Columns Monument in Amarillo,Texas; open year 2068, 2968, respectively. [56]
• Disneyland 40th Anniversary Time Capsule in Anaheim, California; to open in July 2035
• Green-Wood Cemetery, Brooklyn, NY: a time capsule placed in a cornerstone in 1954 was found in January 2013[57]
• Salt Lake City, 78 S. Main & 100 South: In 2012, a time capsule from Nov. 25, 1959 containing predictions for the year 2000 was found in the outside wall of the former First Federal Savings Bank[58]
• Fort Collins, Colorado: In January 2013, a time capsule dated 6 June 1907 was found in a cornerstone of the building at 140 Oak Street[59]
• Merrick Park Time Capsule in Coral Gables, Florida
• A 100-year-old time capsule in the First Lutheran Church of Oklahoma City opened on 23 April 2013[60]
• Detroit Century Box in Detroit, Michigan, containing 56 letters from prominent citizens, sealed at midnight on 31 December 1900 and opened on 31 December 2000[61][62]
• In 1992, a time capsule was buried at Nickelodeon Studios containing items that kids considered important at that time. It was moved to the Nickelodeon Suites Resort Orlando in 2005 and later to the Nickelodeon Animation Studio in 2016, and will be opened in 2042.[63]
• Time capsule in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho.
• Time capsule encased in cement at the entrance of the Miami Dade County Courthouse, 73 W. Flagler, St., Miami, Florida. To be opened on Sept. 17, 2087.
• The Samuel Adams and Paul Revere Time Capsule was found under the Golden Dome of the Massachusetts State House in December 2014. It is believed to have been buried in 1795 by then-Governor Samuel Adams and Paul Revere, and contained newspapers, a commonwealth seal, colony records, coins, a silver plate, and copper medal. It was uncovered, then added to and replaced, in 1855. Being 219 years old, it is the oldest time capsule to be discovered in the United States.[64][65]
• A glass time capsule buried at MIT in 1957 was accidentally unearthed during construction in 2015. Made to be opened in 2957, its condition was checked and then it was reburied.[66][67]
• On 1 September 1975, a time capsule was buried at the intersection of 7th and Main in Louisville, Kentucky to be opened in 100 years.[68]
• A time capsule was buried in 1984 by patrons of the nightclub Danceteria. Intended to be opened in the year 6984, it was instead uncovered by construction workers in 2017.[69]
• In 1975, a time capsule with contents of that year, was buried in front of Brooks Academy in Harwich, Massachusetts. The time capsule is due to be opened 100 years from the burial date, in the capsule's centennial year of 2075.

Time capsule at NASA Glenn Research Center

• On 23 January 1991 a time capsule was placed in a sculpture at NASA Lewis (now Glenn) Research Center, celebrating the 50th anniversary of the Center's groundbreaking. The capsule is scheduled to be opened on 23 January 2041.[70]
• On 14 January 2000, Livermore California buried two time capsules. Information at http://www.lhg.org/time. One capsule may have been reburied from a previous burial.
• Time capsule at St. Joseph School in Mendham, NJ.
• The largest time capsule in the world is located in Seward, Nebraska, containing over 5,000 items, one of which is a Chevy Vega. It opens in July 2025.[71][72]
• On 1 August 1969 Wayne Centennial Time Capsule was placed in Wayne, MI and is due to be opened on 1 August 2069.
• On 3 September 2013 Perry Hall High School buried a time capsule on the occasion of the school's 50th anniversary. It is to be opened on 3 September 2063.[73]
• In August 2018 Sea Pines Montessori Academy buried a time capsule on the occasion of the school's 50th anniversary. It is to be buried in Harbour Town on Hilton Head Island, South Carolina and opened in August 2068.
• Boulder, Colorado: The courthouse plaza at Pearl Street Mall has two time capsules: one to be opened in 2075, the other in 2096.[74]
• Reno, Nevada: A time capsule was placed in cornerstone at the Reno Masonic Lodge in October 1872. It was opened on April 16, 2019. It contained more than 40 items, including a harmonica, a corkscrew, silver dollars minted in Carson City and San Francisco, a piece of wood from Sutter's Mill, and copies of several newspapers, including the Nevada State Journal, the Nevada Appeal, and the Territorial Enterprise.[75][76]
• Upon the construction of its offices and studios on August 18, 1969, television station WWNY-TV in Carthage-Watertown, New York sealed a time capsule into the cornerstone of the new building. The time capsule contained, among other items, a film from then-news director Bob Tompkins explaining the contents, a script of the same recording, a program log from the day the cornerstone was laid, and various pictures of downtown Watertown in 1969 (the city's centennial). There was no open date included. The capsule was opened during the 6 PM newscast on October 22, 2019 to celebrate the station's 65th anniversary.[77]
• On December 14, 1999, WBEN, a radio station in Buffalo, New York buried a time capsule named the Millennium Time Capsule on Niagara Square that's to be opened on January 1st, 2100. It uses a tombstone located on the McKinley Memorial as a marker. It's located at N 42° 53.181 W 078° 52.716.
• In February 2012, cast members from Disney California Adventure buried souvenirs into the capsule, which will open come February 2037.
• On July 4, 1976 the 'Philadelphia Restaurant and Business Association' placed a time capsule to be opened on July 4, 2076, America's Tri-centennial. It is buried 24 feet deep below a sidewalk at 126 Chestnut St.

Dates of opening of already opened capsules.

Scheduled opening dates for already installed capsules.