During next month’s 100th-year festivities, the museum will fill another time capsule and seal it in the cornerstone of the building to be opened in 2124. In the meantime, the contents of that new time capsule are being sought from groups across the city and from the general public as well. At the end of May, a time capsule placed in the cornerstone of the current Union Station in 1924 — which also contained items from the previous 1889 station’s time capsule — was opened for the public.

Hope Eggett, administrator for the Museums at Union Station, told the Standard-Examiner on Monday that the goal is to give the people of the future a glimpse into what life was like in Ogden in 2024.

“For this time capsule, we want to create a cross-section of the people that call Ogden home here in 2024,” she said. “We’ve invited quite a few community groups  to participate. Then on Nov. 22, we’re going to have our community members, especially our invited people, come and present those objects to the community before we seal it away for 100 years. ”

A press release on the new time capsule says that nearly 30 groups, companies and other entities have been contacted to contribute. Eggett said this includes the Union Pacific Railroad, the Ogden-Weber Chamber of Commerce, Weber State University, Ogden Mayor Ben Nadolski, the Ogden Downtown Alliance and the Ogden Arts Committee.

The 1924 time capsule that was opened in the spring contained several items, including railroad time tables, Free Mason memorabilia, photographs, newspapers and other items.

While the last time capsule was a very paper-heavy affair, Eggett said there will be some differences with the new time capsule.

“We’re looking for all sorts of items,” she said. “I’m expecting some three-dimensional items. We’re expecting to have some digital records in there as well — probably things on DVDs or flash drives — recording the history of our city. I’m expecting, also, a lot of written documents as well. … Really we want to get down to the individual citizens as well. We’ve also been working with the interfaith group (and) the Ogden NAACP to get some of those individual stories from communities that were not represented in that first time capsule.”

In addition to working with community organizations and other entities, the museums also are giving regular citizens ways to contribute to the time capsule.

One way is “Letters to the Future,” where community members are encouraged to answer the following questions:

• What does Union Station mean to you?
• What do you think Ogden will be like in 2124?
• What do you want the future to know about Ogden today?

Parents who had babies in 2024 also are welcome to submit their baby’s name and date of birth to a list of 2024 births in Ogden that will be revealed at the opening of the time capsule in 2124.

Eggett said there are a few restrictions to help protect the integrity of items in the capsule.

“We’re not including any sort of food items or anything that has water content,” she said. “We’re also using special archival paper that’s rated to last 300 years or more, so that way we don’t have any yellowing or fading happening. … We’re also excluding any sort of item that might degrade over time, so we’re going to be careful about the kind of digital items we put in there making sure we choose the best options.”

She said they also will avoid using staples and rubber bands as much as possible.

The time capsule will be placed during a ceremony that will be part of the station’s 100th anniversary from 5-9 p.m. Nov. 22.

“We’ll have a few historical speakers, and the mayor will be giving a speech bidding farewell to the time capsule,” she said. “Each of the groups that are submitting items is going to be invited to come and show off their items before we put them into the box and talk a little bit about what they chose and why they chose it. After that presentation, we’ll be sealing up the copper box entirely and we’ll be placing it in the cornerstone where we took out the last time capsule that evening. The Grand Lodge of the Free Masons will be doing a rededication ceremony for our cornerstone to bid farewell to that for 100 years.”

An orchestra concert and drone show will follow the rededication. Centennial festivities will continue the following day, from noon to 6 p.m. Nov. 23, with self-guided museum tours, big band music, a drone show and more. Items that were removed from the 1924 time capsule also will be on display both days.

For more information on the “Letters to the Future” and baby list, visit https://www.ogdencity.com/2956/2024-Time-Capsule.