Forest Hills — Fifth-grader Paige Raschke pulled an unfamiliar item from a 26-year-old time capsule: a black-and-red Walkman.
She inserted the accompanying cassette tape, pushing play to start the 1997 Billboard chart-topping song, “Man! I Feel Like a Woman!” by Shania Twain, an artist Paige was also not familiar with.
The twangy song provided theme music as Orchard View Elementary’s fifth-grade council made its way down the hall to refill the capsule — opened in December — with their own snapshots of daily life in 2026.
The original time capsule was installed by Junior Girl Scout Troop 777 in 2000. Located in the wall above the third-grade lockers, a plaque marked its spot, indicating that the troop’s goal was for the capsule to be opened every 25 years, the items removed, new items placed inside, and the capsule resealed.
“Last year’s third-graders, who are now fourth-graders, noticed the time capsule,” said teacher Emily Raap, who also serves as the council adviser. “They kept an eye on it, knowing that it had to be opened in 2025.”
In preparation for the December opening, students in teacher Angie Wagaman’s third-grade class and Raap’s fourth-grade class researched time capsules, with one fourth-grader preparing a time-capsule slideshow for both classes.
The classes and the fifth-grade student council gathered to open the capsule, which proved to be more difficult than expected, Raap said, because the school’s custodian and student support services supervisor had to “really pull it off.”
Once opened, Wagaman climbed up and handed items down one by one for students to examine.
Raap said all the items from the 2000 time capsule will be given to the school’s current Girl Scout troop and eventually shared with the Girl Scouts of Michigan Shore to Shore Girl Council for preservation.
Treasures from the Past
“My favorite was seeing everything from the old days, all the different stuff,” said student Jaswitha Majji. “It was fun to see what was popular in those days.”
The item that took most students by surprise was Pokémon cards.
“I didn’t think they were that big of a thing back then,” said CJ Ashley.
There were other familiar items, such as a Beanie Baby stuffed animal and the cover of a Harry Potter book.
Sreenika Tummanapelly said it was fun to guess what was in the time capsule and look over the items as they were revealed. A choker necklace was another surprise find.
They also learned old news about their school: “There was construction going on for a new playground,” Paige said as she flipped through photographs. “We just got a new playground.”
Fifth-grader Ava House studied the front of a newspaper section that featured the band KISS.
“Do you know who that is?” someone asked, and Ava shook her head no.
A Gift for the Future
The student council used the items to learn about time capsules and to plan for the 2026 time capsule. Raap said the students wanted to follow the Girl Scout troop’s wishes and refill the capsule with mementos from their time at Orchard View and items meaningful to students today.
They included sensory toys, a Squishmallows stuffed animal, 3D-printed toys, a school lunch menu, a paint pen and skincare boxes.
“I hope they notice the kinds of things that are popular now and compare what was popular to what will be popular 25 years from now,” said Flora Trapp as she looked over the items the council had selected.
Sydney Abraham said he added a shirt for the school’s annual fundraiser, HAWK Walk, to see whether the activity is still taking place 25 years from now.
Standing the test of time, and included once again, were Pokémon cards. Aarav Raj said he would be curious to see if they were still popular 25 years from now.
Paige also put in the original plaque, which will preserve the intent of the original project — hopefully encouraging students of 2051 to continue the tradition.
The students placed the items — sealed in plastic bags with informational sheets — in the capsule, which will be covered with the original board and frame and a new plaque that reads: “Fifth Grade Student Council Time Capsule. Sealed on May 21, 2026. To be opened in the year 2051.”
Quinn Smith stated what many of the students felt: “I think it’s cool that we were the people who got to do the time capsule.”
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