Allan Hancock College staff, faculty, and students gathered at the college’s Lompoc Valley Center (LVC) on Tuesday to preserve the past four years in time.
The event was organized in celebration of the LVC's 25th anniversary last year.
The metal time capsule, which was designed and fabricated by Hancock welding professor Gabriel Marquez, reportedly contains more than 20 items that represent history at the college between the years 2020 and 2024.
Officials say the capsule will be unearthed in 2049, when the LVC celebrates its 50th anniversary.
“This time capsule will preserve some of the history and memories of the LVC, as well as snapshots of life and learning at Hancock,” said the college's Superintendent and President, Kevin G. Walthers, in a press release. “We hope future generations will enjoy what’s included when they dig up the capsule decades down the road.”
Items in the time capsule include apparel celebrating Hancock’s 100th anniversary, which was celebrated in 2020, and the LVC’s 25th anniversary, which was celebrated in 2024.
Bottles of wine from the college’s viticulture and enology program, photos of student leaders, a drawing from one of the children enrolled at LVC’s Children’s Center, and many other items were also added into the time capsule.
Organizers say the capsule was constructed with a special valve through which a small amount of argon gas was inserted to best preserve the contents.
The capsule buried at the LVC is one of four identical time capsules that Allan Hancock College is in the process of burying.
The other three are set to reside at the college’s Santa Maria campus and will be opened during the college's milestone anniversaries in 2070, 2095, and 2120.
