Peters Township students bury cicada-themed time capsule
McMurray Elementary School teacher Kristen Kropiewnicki and her students buried a time capsule that is supposed to be opened when the Brood V cicadas return to the area in 2033.
McMurray Elementary School teacher Kristen Kropiewnicki and her students buried a time capsule that is supposed to be opened when the Brood V cicadas return to the area in 2033.
McMurray Elementary School teacher Kristen Kropiewnicki and her students buried a time capsule that is supposed to be opened when the Brood V cicadas return to the area in 2033.
McMurray Elementary School teacher Kristen Kropiewnicki and her students buried a time capsule that is supposed to be opened when the Brood V cicadas return to the area in 2033.
The idea made a lot of sense to Kristen Kropiewnicki, a sixth-grade teacher at McMurray Elementary School in Peters Township.
Kropiewnicki, who teaches science, likes to incorporate the environment into her lesson plans. And what better example of the physical environment is there than the cicada that is making its presence known throughout the area? Since the noisy insect appears every 17 years, Kropiewnicki had her students put together a time capsule, which incorporates elements of their daily lives, and buried it June 22 on the school grounds.
“In 17 years, when the cicadas come around again, we can celebrate,” she said.
Kropiewnicki had her 55 students fill out pages with their names, birth dates, favorite subjects in school, and favorite phone apps. She also had them write down the kind of phone that they, or their parents, own.
“I had them make predictions about their phones, too,” said Kropiewnicki, adding that each student had to write a journal entry and a future letter to themselves. “They had a lot of fun with the letter and asked themselves questions like whether they were married and had kids. They also had to share three family memories and tell why they were special.”
Students also addressed letters to themselves and placed them in the capsule.
The entire class put together a list of how much everyday items cost, such as a gallon of gasoline, loaf of bread, stamps, eggs and a haircut. Kropiewnicki added a letter explaining the class project and $25 to cover any postage to mail the letters. Also included was a copy of The Almanac.
“They wanted a sample of currency in case they decided to change bills,” she said.
Kropiewnicki and her father, Bill Hutson, dug a hole for the capsule near the school pavilion. The items were placed in an former ammunition box – 10 inches long, four inches wide and six inches deep – which also has a rubber seal to keep out moisture.
“It took us two hours to dig the hole,” she said. “It was a tight fit.”
Each of Kropiewnicki’s students got a chance to put a shovel full of dirt into the excvated area.
“This was pretty exciting,” she said.