It was a CT scan 25 years in the making.
Students at Ecole Beairsto Elementary were giddy with excitement as the school's Capsule Temporelle – Time Capsule – which sat concealed in a main floor wall off of a classroom for a quarter-century was about to be opened.
The engraved instruction on the marker indicating the capsule specifically said, "To be opened in June 2025."
"We opened it on Tuesday (June 3)," said Beairsto Grade 5 teacher Paul Richard.
The school hosted assemblies for all of its students Friday, June 6, to reveal the contents of the capsule. Also on hand were former school staff, students, and teachers.
"There were items in the capsule that were put in there in 2000, and there were some items from 1985," said Richard.
One of the 40-year-old items was a VHS video cassette that showed life at Beairsto on May 16, 1985, as the facility's 75th anniversary was celebrated. Richard had the video converted digitally and played it via computer for the assemblies.
A second VHS cassette was also found in the time capsule. So were many Morning Star newspaper clippings involving the school or its staff and students; art work from a papier mâché mask to drawings; there were letters written by students; and there was a cylinder containing documents, including a list of the principals in 2000 at the schools in the Vernon School District.
There were also a variety of pictures showing students at Beairsto as the 21st century began.
Richard opened the assemblies by showing pictures of current staff from 25 years ago, much to the squealing delight of the current student body – none of whom were born in 2000. The slide show also revealed popular items from that year.
Gladiator was one of the top movies. ER and Who Wants To Be A Millionaire were among the favourite TV shows. One of the biggest cheers and laughs came when the students saw pictures of the iMac computers, definitely in vogue at the start of the century.
"And you used to have to work computers with dial-up connections," explained Richard.
The biggest cheer from the kids came when video games like Nintendo 64, Playstation2, and the Sega Dreamcast were shown on the screen.
There were also pictures of what music players – CDs and the highly regarded Discman – televisions, and cell phones looked like in 2000.
The items found inside the Capsule Temporelle will be displayed at the school for a short time. Classes will be discussing what items to include in the next time capsule.
"That one will be opened in June 2050," smiled Richard.
