Mementoes of today - including a copy of the Herts Ad - have been placed in a time capsule to be opened 30 years in the future.
An organisation for adults with learning disabilities called All About Me, along with Cunningham Hill Junior School and an older people’s group at St Luke’s Church, Sharing Stories, have teamed up to fill the box.
Contributors are cross-generational, and therefore paint a complete picture of 2017 for people of 2047.
All About Me contributed a PowerPoint presentation which illustrates their recent move to Herts county council’s day services in Cunningham Hub, Year 4 schoolchildren made films and artwork about what they think life in 2047 will be like, and Sharing Stories compiled life histories of their members in history books.
The time capsule will be stored in St Luke’s Church until it is ready to be opened and examined, and a commemorative plaque is going to be erected outside.
At the unveiling ceremony, chair of the Cunningham Hub Management Committee and district Cllr Robert Donald said: “History isn’t just about kings and queens and battles and governments and power, it’s about how people lived and their daily lives.
“People have always buried things so people of other generations can find it.”
A teacher at the school, James Nicholson, said the children worked hard on the project: “We made films about what the children thought life would be like in 30 years time, it’s amazing how many robots there were in 30 years time and how teachers were obsolete.”
He said the project helped community inclusion and support as well as collaborative learning
Sharing Stories’ Hilary Swain, thanked co-leader Carole Sharp: “The group really values the importance of the past.
“In the minds of the members of the group there are droves of memories, and it’s been such a privilege to provide the life stories of the group as part of this project.”
St Albans Mayor, Cllr Mohammad Iqbal Zia, revealed the chest and plaque: “It’s fantastic, in 30 years people will come and they will open the chest and they will think ‘what fascinating people live in Cunningham’.
“This is something special.”
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