Time Capsule 2012 Competition Launched

There could be an opportunity for aviation sites in Lincolnshire to try and encourage their local schools to work with them in Aviation Heritage Lincolnshire’s new project for 2012 – Time Capsules.

Perhaps individual forumites from the county might also encourage their children or grandchildren to ask their school to get involved.

The following details were released yesterday.

“A central theme of Aviation Heritage Lincolnshire’s (AHL) business plan is innovative interaction with the schools, education establishments and voluntary-led young people groups across Lincolnshire. In previous years this has involved the Poetry Competition in 2010 and the Aviation Nose Art Competition in 2011. The winning entries from the 2011 competition are still being requested for display at specialist exhibitions across the region.

For 2012 the AHL Competition is based around Time Capsules and the competition will run from 1st March to 20th September, with all entries submitted and received for judging by 1st October 2012. AHL is funded by a Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) award of £436,000 and AHL’s remit is to work with various venues to raise the profile of aviation heritage in the county, and promote aviation within schools and colleges.

Time Capsule 2012 aims to encourage young people to explore and compile information on their particular local area’s aviation and associated airfields past or present – or if they wish they can research the county as a whole. This could be either in the form of one specific historic event e.g. the Dam Busters Raid, the Waddington International Airshow or it might cover a particular period, for example the Cold War. Any information or documents from the research undertaken can be recorded using text, photographs and artwork.

In addition, all entrants will also have the opportunity to record their class, school and current local environment information, for inclusion in a capsule. The competition meets with the National Curriculum criteria in English, History, Citizenship and Art subject areas.

Up to ten time capsules will be ordered for use in the competition and these will be registered with the relevant authorities and with Oglethorpe University in Georgia, USA – the international monitoring organisation for such capsules. AHL aims to secure entries from each District Council area of Lincolnshire. In some circumstances AHL may encourage ‘Lead Schools’ to include other material from their district; with the capsule being buried in agreed local areas, such as school grounds or have them housed in registered repositories. The capsules will have an embossed lid with the name of the district, school / association, the year laid down and the year to be opened.

The age range for the competition is from 5 to 18 years old. Entry is open to all schools, colleges and youth groups. Entry forms, including time capsule storage information, can be obtained from David (AT) aviationheritagelincolnshire.com or by telephoning 01529 308137.

Additional Teachers’ Education information on the county’s aviation museums and historical sites can be found on the AHL website http://www.aviationheritagelincolnshire.com under the homepage education banner.

“Time Capsule 2012 is another exciting opportunity for AHL to interact with Lincolnshire’s young people and also leave a lasting legacy for the AHL partnership.” Commented Dave Harrigan AHL’s Outreach and Learning Officer, he continued. “Entrants will also be able to use the extensive education resources from the TAKE FLIGHT link on our website, which is already proving very popular with schools across the county.”

He concluded, “We are very pleased to have been able to source the time capsules locally. They are being ordered from the Ridgequest foundry, a small family business based in the village of Croft, near Skegness, Lincs.”