The specifications listed here are based on the belief that a weathervane time capsule will be discovered sometime between 50 and 200 years. This assessment is based on experience and historical record. Each capsule will be custom made to fit the particular weathervane and most will be the approximate size of an eyeglass's case or a coffee cup. The items you gather for your capsule should be small, light, and to-the-point. Most weathervanes will not allow for a laptop for example.

What to put in the capsule is the question that often makes headlines and the stories associated with them interesting. Here are some ideas that you could (and some that you 'should not') include in your weathervane Time Capsule. Create your "message in the bottle" with a linear message. Examples are: A family that includes information about themselves like a family tree and a letter directed to their descendants; an organization that preserves its charter for its successors. Be sure to involve the whole group in the discussions of what goes into the capsule, especially the kids. This is a serious project but everyone can have fun with it.

• Include a letter to your descendants or successors. A good way to start your letter is with the Heading "Our Message to the Future". Include in your letter signatures, interviews-especially with grandparents, family trees and information, etc. Tell them where you were New Year's Eve 1999 as the second millennium began.
  

• Include clippings from newspapers, magazines, or the TV guide highlighting the current movies, music, foods, fashion, politics, etc. Include junk food and other product packaging.
  

• Maps, baseball cards, post cards, stamps, and business cards will surely be fun to discover.
  

• Challenge future recipients to learn more about you and your time.
  

• Predictions for the future are always fun and sometimes amazing. In the 1600s there was a Dutch pharmacist that lived a normal unassuming life. During his evenings he would entertain himself by writing predictions of the future. In the 300 years since his death, many of Nostradamus' predictions have come true with startling accuracy. 
  

• Cleanse your soul. Reveal a deep dark secret. Imagine discovering a time capsule left by the party who shot John F. Kennedy. It'll be too late for punishment!
  

• A wonderful touch is to include a joke. They tell so much about ourselves, our time and our culture.
  

• Birth and Marriage announcements, photos, and baby booties are a great way to immortality.
  

• Ceremonial dedications and public documents are popular enclosures.
  

• Graduation rosters and photographs are a good way to preserve an important moment.
  

• If the weathervane being made is of a beloved pet living or past, including his or her tags or collar is a wonderful memorial.
  

• Dated coins with stamped initials have always been included in weathervanes. Pennies symbolize good fortune so be sure to make a wish on each before enclosing them.
  

• How about one share of Microsoft? It will be interesting to see what it will be worth in a hundred years. Will it be a treasure or just a curiosity? 
  

• If a treasure chest is in fact your idea of a time capsule then don't forget the jewelry, bonds, silver, and gold coins etc.
  

• Engraved plaques seem to last longest. Ferro Weathervanes  recently discovered a 191-year-old plaque inside a weathervane that was clearly legible. Plaques are great for formal dedications, and commemorations.
  

• Include yourself. That's right, a sample of DNA in the form of hair or blood may mean you will live again as a clone. Wouldn't the ancient Egyptians have just loved that! Who knows, your sample of DNA could lead to a cure for some future disease. You would be a hero!
  

• Ferros Weathervanes owner, David Ferro, plans to include not only samples of his DNA but has arranged for a weathervane to be a tomb for his cremated ashes. Ashes of a person or pet can easily be included. Contact us to make the special arrangements.
  

• If the weathervane were big enough, a bottle of fine wine or whiskey would be a magnificent gift to future peoples. Be sure to ask them to think of you as they sample the exquisite libation.
  

• A suggestion fit for David Letterman's 'Top Ten List' of "things to put in a time capsule" would be "A Twinkie, what Really is the shelf life?"

SAFE AND UNSAFE MATERIALS

Ferro Weathervanes will carefully pack and seal your Time Capsule with the expectation of it lasting 200 years. Consider the following guidelines while selecting items for your capsule to ensure the articles will make the complete journey safely. 

SAFE

• Cotton and polyester.
  

• Properly processed, fiber based, black & white photographic prints, preferably treated with gold, selenium or polysulfide toner, keep best. Photographic films coated on a polyester base, rather than acetic bases, are more stable.
  

• Use archival quality paper (high-alpha cellulose) with an alkaline reserve of pH 7.5 or higher.
  

• Permalife papers are an excellent choice. Use a permanent marker to write with.
  

• Non-ferrous metals such as copper, brass, gold, and stainless steel.
  

• Ceramic and glass.
  

• MVP plastic bags

UNSAFE

• DO NOT COMPLETELY FILL the capsule we send you. Only fill it about 80%. The extra room will be for protective packaging. 
  

• Anything made of PVAC, PVC, and polyethylene including plastic food wrap will release harmful acids into the capsule as it ages.
  

• No batteries or electronics. They will leak chemicals and will not work later anyway.
  

• Color prints and slides can fade even when kept in the dark. They are only good for short-term Time Capsules.
  

• For archival quality Time Capsules, be sure to de-acidify newsprint and other printed documents. This can be done easily be laser copying on archival quality paper (color-free).
  

• All wood, especially oak releases harmful gasses.
  

• Rubber can introduce sulfur into the capsule.
  

• Silk, wool, or human hair should be enclosed in a sealed glass vial not capped by rubber or metal but preferably cork or glass.
  

• Anything that is susceptible to high heat.