America250 celebrations are in full swing around the country in celebration of the United States’ semiquincentennial, from the largest synchronized Fourth of July celebration in history to the coast-to-coast America 250 Relay.
One of the most unique initiatives underway is America’s Time Capsule, an official project dedicated to preserving a “representative snapshot of the United States at 250 years.”
The 900-pound steel capsule has already been filled with artifacts from around the country and will be ceremonially buried on July 4, 2026, at Independence National Historic Park in Philadelphia. It will remain sealed for another 250 years, to be reopened in 2276 when the United States turns 500 years old.
A bipartisan team from America250 curated over 200 contributions from all three branches of government, all 50 states, five U.S. territories, and other national partners and institutions.
California’s contributions to America’s Time Capsule
California has contributed the following items to America’s Time Capsule:
- Letter from the Governor: A letter from California Governor Gavin Newsom and First Partner Jennifer Siebel Newsom
- Fusion Superconductor: A fusion conductor segment built in San Diego by General Atomics, representing innovation in clean energy
- California Innovation $1 coin: A commemorative coin featuring Steve Jobs
- My California Poem: A poem titled “My California,” written by the state’s current Poet Laureate, Lee Herrick
- NASA Photo: A photograph of California from space, taken from NASA’s Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS), depicting the state’s topography during a typical winter season
- Claude AI Prediction: Claude’s answer to the prompt, “Write me a prediction of what California will be like 250 years from July 4, 2026,” printed on archival paper
- Qubit Chip: A qubit chip (the central hardware component of a quantum computer) from UC Berkeley, reflecting the innovation and research of the UC system
What else is sealed in the capsule?
America 250 designed the capsule in collaboration with scientists from the National Institute of Standards and Technology and preservation experts from the Library of Congress. The cylindrical, steel vessel is engineered to keep its contents dry and intact for the next 250 years.
The capsule has already been sealed with a range of items for future Americans to discover, including a letter from Michael Berilla, who leads the time capsule project.
“Greetings from the living, breathing hearts and hands of 2026,” Berilla wrote, according to PBS. “We will have long since returned to dust, but our devotion, pride, and unwavering hope for what our world could become are alive right here inside this steel. We built this for you.”
Additional contents include a bone from an endangered North Atlantic right whale (Maine), a beaded artwork by Crow/Hidatsa/Arikara artist Karis Jackson (Montana), handwritten notecards written by everyday citizens (Louisiana), and a bolo tie (New Mexico).
Some America250 partner organizations also contributed items, such as an Olympic Gold Medal with pins from Milano Cortina 2026, a sample of Smithsonite from the Smithsonian, and a pocket constitution signed by eleven past and present Supreme Court Justices.
You can visit America250.org/time-capsule to learn more and explore all of the capsule’s contents.
