(Newswire.net — May 6, 2014) Missoula, Montana —
Scott Tucker, a high school teacher in Missoula, Montana, recently invited the entire community to contribute to a time capsule that will be buried by students in his ninth grade social studies class. Tucker says he opened contributions to the time capsule to all members of the community as a way to broaden the lessons for his students.
“Thinking about future generations is a great lesson in itself,” says Scott Tucker. “But inviting the rest of the community teaches the kids to not only consider the people who will inherit the world they live in, but also consider the people they share the world with today.”
The capsule is slated to be buried this spring, and to be unearthed on April 22, 2034. The capsule, which Tucker and his students constructed from sheets of PVC, is capable of holding sixteen cubic feet worth of artifacts for a future generation of social studies students.
“There is a lot of space in the time capsule, but the space is still limited,” says Scott Tucker. “A large part of the lesson will involve deciding as a group what goes in, and what gets left out.”
One solution that Tucker says his students discovered early on was to include photographs and personal notes in the time capsule. According to Tucker, the notes and photographs have the obvious benefit of not taking up much space, but also have the additional benefit of being in a format that people in the future will definitely be able to use.
Scott Tucker explains the benefit of using analog technology: “The students suggested putting flash drives in the time capsule, so I asked them if any of them know what a five and a half inch floppy drive was and they didn’t have a clue. That made them start thinking about how technology changes, and even how the language in their notes might sound different to a ninth grader in the future.”
Final decisions about what artifacts will be included in the time capsule will be made during the week before it is buried by the class. Students have reached out to friends and family, but anyone may submit artifacts by contacting Scott Tucker directly.
“The photographs and personal notes are a great compromise,” says Scott Tucker, “Buy the actual physical objects are the really exciting part of this project. We’re definitely on the look out for really interesting submissions from the community.”
Scott Tucker and his students will being accepting submissions for the time capsule two weeks prior to June 1st.