History's in the capsule

The University of Nebraska at Omaha will be collecting items from now through Jan. 5 to put into a centennial time capsule that will be opened in 2109 or 2110.

What are they looking for? Well, capsule committee member Suzanne Sollars, an associate professor of psychology at UNO, said she's already decided to include a toy called the “Chicken Chucker.”

“Really, what I hope is that people will think of this as a fun opportunity to be forward-looking,” Sollars said Tuesday. “For item submissions, include things that show our humor, our creativity, our heart and soul. Things that the folks who open the capsule may never have seen.”

Time capsule items will be featured in a display at Criss Library in February, and then buried in an interior wall of the Mammel Hall atrium, currently under construction at the UNO Pacific Street location.

Stainless steel containers -- six 12-by-12-by-24 and one 12-by-12-by-48 -- will store the donated mementos representing a variety of groups, including students, faculty, staff, administration, alumni, community donors, supporters and community schools, neighbors and partners.

“Whatever information and items are submitted to the capsules, my hope is that the people of 2110 will see we were not stagnant in our philosophies and goals -- that we had vision, passion and purpose,” Sollars said.

“But even with all the imagination we could muster, we could not truly imagine who they are and what UNO and the world has become . . . When they open the capsule in 2109-2110, my wish is that they gain a sense of how much we hoped the best for them.”

As many items as possible will be included in the capsule. Individuals and groups wanting to be involved hould contact Sollars at ssollars@unomaha.edu.

The 2110 Committee will have the final decision on items included.