Students bury time capsule at Perkins School for the Blind

Boston.com, September 17, 2010
By Sarah Thomas, Town Correspondent

Two sets of hands grasp the new wooden handles, the larger guiding the smaller into place. A small mound of pale, sandy soil is pushed into place by a construction worker. A quick flip, and the sand is shifted, with everyone yelling 'Good job!' More hands guide small feet around the hole.

Dozens of students enacted this ritual Thursday at the Perkins School for the Blind, as school officials and alums gathered to witness the burial of two time capsules to commemorate the construction of the new Lower School Building.

"I was in school there, and I liked it, but this building is going to be great," said Perkins student Logan Kelly, who participated in the event."Burying the capsule was a lot of fun."

The burial was preceded by speeches from Perkins president Steve Rothstein, as well as research librarian Jan Seymour-Ford and lower school director Rob Hair.

"This event today is the culmination of many months of work," Hair said. "We first called for items in the spring. We really appreciate the outpouring of support for the effort."

Items in the capsules include an MP3 player loaded with current music, commemorative stamps and coins honoring Louis Braille and Helen Keller, student essays on their impressions of 2010, and materials from the presidential campaign of Barack Obama.

Seymour-Ford said the last burial of a time capsule on school grounds took place in 1979, to mark the school's 150th anniversary. Both the 1979 and 2010 capsules are due to be unearthed in 2029.

"The older capsule holds technology which was considered state-of-the-art then but isn't even in use today," Seymour-Ford said. "Perkins educates its students to be citizens of the world, and to give back to the world as well."

The new Lower School, which opens in January, will include elevators, therapeutic facilities, and modern classrooms, Rothstein said.

"We're very excited about the learning opportunities the new building will afford our students," Rothstein said. "The building will be accessible, modern, and safe."

A formal dedication for the new Lower School Building will take place in March.

Sarah Thomas can be reached at sarah.m.thomas@gmail.com.