Museum seals time capsule

A 6-year-old girl predicted in the year 2025 "there will be fairies all over the place and they will look after you all the time and sometimes, if you are lucky, you can see them."

Hers was one of the responses placed inside a giant mailbox Thursday at the Children's Museum of Northern Nevada.

The mailbox, located near the front entrance of the museum, will serve as a time capsule. Its red flag reads, "Please pick up in the year 2025."

Suzi Meehan, museum director, said she decided to make a time capsule as part of the Countdown to the Millennium organized in Carson City for this week prior to New Year's Day.

"The Millennium Committee asked me to do something with the museum," Meehan said. "I decided to do something for the kids that come here 25 years from now."

The museum sent out a list of 14 questions for children under the age of 17 to answer and send to the museum's e-mail address.

The children were encouraged to send the questions to friends around the world.

A 13-year-old girl from Louisiana responded to the question, "What will computers be able to do for us and what will they look like?" She wrote, "They will look like my mother and they will feed us."

Although the museum did receive some responses, Meehan said the web site was not posted before the schools let out for vacation so many did not get the opportunity to participate.

Once school is back in session, students will be offered another chance to answer the questions, which include: What will the population be in 2025? What can each child do to help change the world?

A 9-year-old Gardnerville girl said she could change the world by "helping the Peace Corps and picking up any garbage I see with protective gloves."

A signed copy of Rich Moreno's book "Backyard Traveler," the proceeds of which went to the museum, was also included in the time capsule.

Also, Jester Jogger, a miniature figurine made of springs with a ping-pong ball head, who served as mascot for the museum, was placed inside as a memoir.

The millennium mailbox was part of a weeklong celebration during which admission to the museum was free.

Meehan said that the museum usually has a slightly fewer than 100 visitors a day, but this week there were up to 400 people a day.

"It's been the most wonderful week ever," she said.

The Millennium Committee and the Carson Nugget sponsored the free admission week.

Doug Brown, director of marketing at the Carson Nugget, said the Millennium Committee wanted to do something that was community-oriented for the children.

"This felt like a good downtown project that we wanted to be a part of," he said.