America250 Time Capsule Will Contain This Contribution From IL

Illinois will help tell the story of America at 250 years old by placing artifacts in America’s Time Capsule, a national record that will remain sealed for the next 250 years.

America250, the national nonpartisan organization leading the country’s semiquincentennial celebration, recently unveiled the first look at the official time capsule, which will be buried at Independence National Historical Park in Philadelphia on July 4. The capsule is scheduled to be reopened in 2276.

The capsule will include contributions from all three branches of the federal government, each of the 50 states, Washington, D.C., and five U.S. territories, according to America250.

Prairie State officials are expected to submit a poem entitled "Dear New Blood," from the state's Poet Laureate, Mark Turcotte. It was chosen to represent Illinois’ unique communities, history, culture and role in the nation as the United States marks the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence.

In a nod to its past, New Hampshire submitted a brochure featuring a timeline of major events in the state’s Revolutionary War history. California looked to the future, including the answer it got when it asked an AI chatbot, “Write me a prediction of what California will be like 250 years from July 4, 2026.” Highways will be gone, grizzly bears will be back, and the entire state will secede and join Oregon, Washington and British Columbia to form the “Pacific Federation.”

Ohio provided an original statement from Orville Wright alongside a piece of fabric from the Wright Flyer, while West Virginia contributed a piece of coal sculpted into the state's likeness. Maryland tried to submit Old Bay seasoning, but it was rejected because archivists barred items that might decay, decompose or affect other objects in the capsule.

Some states went all out. Utah sent 100 cards featuring historical citizens, 13 coins, eight documents, eight pins, two granite disks and a booklet. Arizona used nano-etching technology to put the full text of the Declaration of Independence and the U.S. Constitution on a stainless steel coin. Other submissions were more bare bones, literally. Maine’s submission included a bone from the endangered North Atlantic right whale. Arkansas sent a diamond.

The variety was fascinating, Tom Medema, a retired National Park Service official and project manager for the time capsule, told The Associated Press.

“I’m glad there wasn’t really a prescription for it,” he said. “I know that was hard for them, but in the end, it was just up to them to represent themselves.”

Some of the items reflect dark historical times, Medema said, as well as the nation’s current challenges. But an air of optimism still surrounded the project.

“There’s great hope in what this capsule represents and the messages that are put in it,” he said. “Something about this capsule has been truly uplifting for everyone who’s been involved in it.”

America250 said the final contents of the capsule will be revealed before July 4. Initial confirmed contents include select items from the 2026 Rose Parade, student submissions from America250’s America’s Field Trip contest, sports memorabilia from national league partners, a handheld flag from an America Waves event, and items from Congress, the Supreme Court and the executive branch.

The capsule was developed with scientists at the National Institute of Standards and Technology, preservation experts at the Library of Congress and the National Park Service. America250 said the stainless steel cylindrical vessel was engineered to withstand 250 years underground.

“This is truly America’s Time Capsule,” Rosie Rios, chair of America250, said in the announcement. “When it is opened in 2276, we want future generations to have a clear, authentic window into who we were at 250 — what we valued, what we built, and how we saw ourselves as a nation.”

The capsule will be publicly displayed in Philadelphia in early July 2026 before its ceremonial burial on Independence Day.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.