Professor Keith Clarke recently noticed that someone had written “what’s in here, anyway?” on the cement by the plaque covering the Geography Department Time Capsule. Good question.
The physical installation of the time capsule took place on December 22, 2004 in the courtyard between Ellison and Buchanan halls—in a corner of the concrete seating area surrounding the main courtyard planter. The Geography Department Time Capsule, marking our 30th Anniversary, will be opened on the Department’s Centennial in 2074. The anodized aluminum cylinder is 12 inches in diameter and 24 inches long and contains historic and contemporary memorabilia commemorating Geography in general and the UCSB Department of Geography in particular.
Professor Clarke, our Chair at the time, conceived the time capsule idea and arranged for its purchase and its installation as part of the commemoration of the Department’s 30th anniversary in 2004. The stonemason in charge of the installation, Mr. Todd Littlehale of Physical Facilities, commented, “I feel like I’m taking part in an historical event!” He was! But back to the question scrawled by the time capsule plaque.
Time Capsule Contents:
- 1980s era landsat imagery.
- 1992 vintage first generation Magellan GPS.
- Chinese-made marine sextant, used by Ray Smith in teaching navigation.
- List of Golledge Lectures.
- Assorted photographs and papers documenting Reg Golledge’s Personal Navigation and Haptic Soundscapes projects.
- First generation palmtop computer.
- Early distance measuring and dictation devices.
- Package of memorabilia surrounding the 30th Anniversary events.
- Programs and name tags from the 100th Anniversary AAG meeting, including a program for the Banquet signed by all UCSB alums present.
- A 1946 La Cumbre UCSB Yearbook.
- Copy of the History of the Department article from the APCG Yearbook.
- Copy of the UCSB Geography History poster.
- Current Student Guide.
- Current General Catalog.
- All current students’registration material.
- Historical posters advertising Geography classes.
- Faculty papers and textbooks.
The International Time Capsule Society notes that “time capsules usually are lost due to thievery, secrecy or poor planning. Finding them will enrich posterity by assuring that independent voices are heard in the future. The International Time Capsule Society, which has formed with the mission to record the burial of all time capsules, is still in search of nine time capsules of which little is known” (more here). Now that you’ve found the Geography Department Time Capsule and know what’s in it, lend the ITCS a hand! And, in order that we not forget our own capsule, let future newsletter and website editors take note (via whatever news medium we use in 2074)!
Article by Bill Norrington
