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If you always wanted to stop time, even for a moment read on. A great family project is a family time capsule.
These days more and more people are tracing their family tree. By making a family time capsule you are leaving a piece of your family for future generations to hold, look at and read. A timecapsule can hold very valuable data for future generations and also they are just plain fun to make.
More families now than ever are making time capsules. Picture your descendents looking at your pictures, checking out what your favorite cereal was, and what your hobbies were. These items and many more can be included in your family time capsule.
A time capsule can be very technical or as simple as you want to make it. You can even consider each member making their own and enclosing them in a vault for the future. Some can be made from a simple large pickle or canning jar sealed well to preserve the contents over time.
It is a good idea when enclosing pictures in your time capsule to adhere them to acid free background paper. This will prevent deterioration of the actual photos. Also with photos you need to pick several of each member. A good rule of thumb is to take a baby picture, then on as a young adult, then another at present age when the time capsule is made. be sure to write the ages at the time the photo was taken and the names of each family member on the photo background in indelible ink.
The oldest way to keep a time capsule is to bury it. With the invention of bank vaults, security safes and other steel vaults it is best to enclose the time capsule in one of these that are available. Another good way to bury your time capsule is to encase it in cement and make a corner stone for the family home. This corner stone does not have to be put into the foundation of the house, but added to block of the sidewalk by your front door.
By deciding to make your family time capsule is the first step though. Some other decisions are what you need to enclose. Good rules of thumb are the following:
How long do you expect your capsule to remain buried? You need to figure the amount of time then decide on what items you need to place. Obviously perishable items will not hold up for lets say 100 years, although in a good container they will withstand 25 to 30 years.
Always keep your budget in mind. It is very easy to go overboard and buy the most expensive vault for the time capsule because of being something you want to ensure stays preserved. Also if you use a bank vault or security box rented by the bank will it be feasible to pay the fees involved over several generations?
There are time capsule societies which will ensure that your time capsule will reach your ancestors in the specified amount of time. They are a wonderful option to utilize although they are expensive. These societies can also help you assertain what items to enclose.
What will you include?
Some simple things to remember to include are the following:
Audio recordings of the family
Photographs
Journals
Newspapers of the present day
Memoribilia
Jewlery
Bank Passbook
Any and all of these items are valuable to future generations. Also copies of family birth certificates and social security numbers can provide a missing link in a geneological family tree. Another wonderful thing to enclose is a family tree for your family as far back as you can remember it. This again will save future generations time in collecting data for their own.
Now choose your container and also your burial or storage method of the time capsule. Be sure to include in your will that the time capsule exsists. make sure that other members of the family know of its exsistance and it is left to someone who understands the importance of the heritage you are passing on.
Now build your capsule.Include all and any information you find pertinate and enjoy your project with your family.
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