A time capsule has been buried at Hull Maritime Museum to celebrate its future.
The Lord Mayor of Kingston Upon Hull and Admiral of the Humber, Councillor Kalvin Neal and service users from Case Training Services have put together a time capsule including personal statements of life in 2024 and messages to the future.
Service users were invited by the contractor, Simpson to visit the museum and share their items which were buried.
The service users have provided vital support in creating new signage to improve access to the collections and artefacts on display for people with learning disabilities, the Special Educational Needs and Disability (SEND), English as a second language and dementia communities, as well as for those supporting people with low literacy levels.
The capsule was buried under the flooring on the ground floor gallery within the Maritime Museum where the conserved 113 year North Atlantic Right Whale skeleton will be mounted and on display, along with new projection to tell the story of the juvenile skeleton.
Robin Diaper, Curator of Maritime and Social History, said: “It was important for us to honour the buildings history and the success we have had on-site so far. I’d like to thank the staff and service users of CASE Training Services for making this historical celebration so special and bringing along such thoughtful items to include in the time capsule.”
Councillor Kalvin Neal, Lord Mayor of Kingston Upon Hull and Admiral of the Humber, said: “The refurbishment of the Hull Maritime Museum is a massive project that will give residents and visitors a fantastic experience for many years to come. The time capsule is a perfect way to celebrate today’s world and enclose it in the city’s showpiece of the past.
“I send my thanks to all involved, especially CASE Training Services and Simpson for taking part in burying the time capsule.”
Mark Cooke, CEO, CASE Day Centre, said: “CASE Training Services based in Hull support service users with a learning disability and our ICT students were thrilled to be involved in the Museums development particularly the Time Capsule project.
“It’s always good to work in partnership on such exciting projects with Hull Museums and Humber Teaching NHS Foundation Trust, we hope future generations will enjoy what has been produced.”
Kevin Batty, Contracts Manager for Simpson, said: “We thought it would be a great idea to help capture the essence of the work that is being undertaken to restore the Museum, but also help conserve the history of the building for others to find in years to come, and what better way than with a time capsule.”
The transformation of the building has included revealing Grade II Victorian architecture, completely revamping the building from top to bottom, including extensive work to the roof and three domes.
Work to the Maritime Museum is entering the latter stages of its refurbishment and is expected to be completed in the summer. The next stage will be to install the new displays, technology and thousands of objects. The museum is expected to reopen in late 2025.