Time Capsule - the container
Its the year, 5522.
A lone wanderer stumbles upon a curious shape that upon closer inspection seems to be a container of some sort. Given that she had found this among the ruins of a town that was previously submerged for a few thousand years, it could contain possessions from one of its ancient inhabitants. It could possibly contain some answers that humanity has lost over the last few decades.
If I were to envision how my time capsule was found in the future, the first thing I would think of is “How did it survive for this long? Are the contents inside undamaged?”. This led me to consider how previously people have built time capsules and of the ones that survived the test of time.
I Need Inspiration
A quick search of famous time capsules throughout history in Google will yield many results, some of which I did not expect. I was able to gather a few common ones such as messages in bottles, old apartments, century-old vaults and of course, the actual capsule themed metal containers. Some of these containers are readily available to buy online, but they lack the imagination and flair I was going for.
The obvious problem with a metal container (like the one on the left) is that it could easily be mistaken for a water pipe. If I am not using the right kind of metal with anti-rust coat, it might slowly get oxidized and disintegrate.
Glass bottles and jars do have a certain charm but they can break easily under pressure and ones I can possess for this project cannot be modified to fit in all my selected objects.
There were a few interesting ideas to consider such as an old Paris apartment that remained untouched for 70 years from 1942-2012. Another was an entire sculpture piece known as the Helium Time Column that would signify three different ways in which humanity has been dependent on various natural resources when they are opened in different time periods.
Searching for Physics of the Impossible
Phone Booth (‘Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure,’ 1989)
The Time Turner from Harry Potter
DMC DeLorean (‘Back to the Future,’ 1985)
I wanted to play around with the concept of time travel since in a way we are trying to relive the past through these time capsules. In searching for inspiration from some of the famous movies that played around with time, I initially considered using a vehicle model like Back to the Future or artifacts like the Time Turner from Harry potter. However, when I stumbled upon the telephone booth from Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure, I immediately knew I wanted to incorporate the TARDIS from Doctor Who which still remains my favorite show. So, my final model boiled down to these two elements:
TARDIS (Time And Relative Dimensions In Space) from Doctor Who
The cylindrical capsule shape in a more practical form to be used as the base
Brainstorming
At first I tried to go for space and displacement themes but realized I will not be able to fit all my objects into these. Going for waterproof and durable material would limit my design to basic geometry so I moved on to the tube shape as my base and embellishment on top of it.
From my recyclable material collection I found the perfect sized container that was plastic and hence will not decompose so easily if buried in soil. It will also protect my objects from natural elements. Next, I tried to incorporate the TARDIS theme over it.
Base container from recyclable collection
Sketch and dimensions of the container and TARDIS panels
Experimenting with different materials – cardboard, paper etc.
Finally, I decided on a blue acrylic piece that was the same color as the TARDIS. After preparing the laser cutting file in Illustrator, I waited for the panels to be prepared.
From Illustrator to the Epilog Mini laser cutter
Final panels for the time capsule
All that was left was assembly. I will let the pictures say the story.
Base container wrapped with black tape to hide it beneath the panels
Used a hot glue gun to attach the panels over the container.
Same process followed to prepare the lid
My Time Capsule
Reflections:
This was my first time using the laser cutter and I was really glad to have this experience. It gave me a lot of insight into the rapid prototyping and troubleshooting process. For example, I have noticed in many instances the laser does not cut the acrylic all the way through. I found that using pliers I can separate those parts. I also realized that sharp corners on hard materials like acrylic can give nasty cuts. That is why it is a good idea to round the edges slightly.