Time capsule from 1987 to be moved Thursday as part of Link farewell

A time capsule buried 32 years ago in front of Scott Engineering Center Link will be unearthed on Thursday to accommodate the beginning of Phase 1 of the College of Engineering’s construction and expansion project.

The capsule will be removed beginning at 5 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 19. Earlier this week, Hausmann Construction removed the concrete top and dug down to the capsule to make Thursday’s event move more quickly.

The capsule, which was created in 1987 to commemorate the 75^thanniversary of Engineering Week, was buried on the west side of The Link, near 16^thand X streets, and was scheduled to be opened in 2037 on the 125th anniversary. It will be moved to a temporary location in the college, where it will be displayed until it can be reburied.

The Link, which housed offices and classrooms in a space between Nebraska Hall and Scott Engineering Center, will be demolished this fall as part of the construction project and a new and larger building constructed in its place, with an estimated completion of Fall 2021.

Thursday is also the kickoff to #LINKBASH, a College of Engineering-sponsored farewell event for The Link that will offer free t-shirts, pizza, pop and snacks and fun activities inside building, including laser tag, colored powders, paint and party poppers. Those interested in participating in the activities are reminded that the events could be messy and should dress appropriately.

More than three decades ago, Nebraska engineering students worked with local companies to design and build the capsule.

Bill Holoubek, a 1989 agricultural engineering graduate and now a Catholic priest, was in charge of the project, which was conceived by David Jensen, a 1986 mechanical engineering graduate. Blueprints were created by John Lewandowski, a 1985 construction management graduate.

Artifacts from engineering student groups were placed inside the capsule, including papers, photos, a floppy diskette, a voltage regulator, silicon diodes, integrated circuit chips, castings, slide film and videocassette tapes. Students Lynette Fix and Deb Keil collected and prepared the artifacts.

Argon gas was then pumped into the capsule to displace the air and the exterior was heated with a torch to drive off moisture. The capsule was buried inside a 15-inch plastic cylinder that contains styrene bead board and fiberglass insulation as protection. A concrete base was placed over the burial site.