Last summer, as we planned the UConn Engineering Centennial, Dean Kazem Kazerounian proposed a time capsule to commemorate our historic milestone. Since the 19th and 20th centuries, tens of thousands of various message in a bottle containers have been installed around the world. Many have been lost to history and vanished from memory. Others, accidentally or purposely recovered, have surprised and informed future generations about bygone days.
To preserve our curated collection of private and public engineering, technology and contemporary memorabilia, inventions, artifacts, and historical collections for posterity, UConn Engineering acquired a 14” x 14” x 30” bolted, stainless steel time capsule box from a specialty manufacturer. The box will be encased in a custom designed and molded ultra-high performance fiber reinforced concrete vault in Associate Professor Kay Wille’s lab in the department of civil & environmental engineering. The capsule will be lowered into the vault in a garden location adjacent to the new Engineering & Science Building during a special ceremony in mid- to late-April 2017. A plaque will direct the recovery of the capsule in one hundred years at our bicentennial, marking the site and commemorating the event.
We’re looking for some specific items, including a smartphone, slide rule, wearable health tracker/monitor, tablet, and a Lego structure. Please contact Heidi Douglas if you’d like to donate any of these.
