Archives Give Sneak Peek of 22nd Century Show

Soon to be locked into a new time capsule, tucked away for a century: a cell phone, GI dog tags, a color photo of the Eagle Nebulae taken by the Hubble space telescope, a recording of the sound of Louis Armstrong’s trumpet and a chunk of concrete President Reagan chiseled out of the Berlin Wall.

The National Millennium Time Capsule, made of steel, copper and titanium, is to be packed, sealed and stored in a secure, climate-controlled room under the safekeeping of the National Archives, storehouse of the nation’s records.

Two exhibit cases full of artifacts that will go into the time capsule went on display Wednesday at the National Archives in a ceremony at its Pennsylvania Avenue headquarters.

“I hope this time capsule will stand as a reminder in 100 years of what we valued, what we believed in and what we created and what our children hoped for at this particular point in American history,” First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton said.

The first lady, who launched the time capsule project on the last day of 1999, contributed one policy book by President Clinton, a volume on White House entertaining by herself, and “Saving America’s Treasures,” a new book that describes historic preservation efforts across the country, a cause Hillary Rodham Clinton has championed.

On behalf of the president, she submitted a medal given him by soldiers he visited in Kosovo. She said that when examined by another president a century from now she hoped it would stand as “a symbol of our never-ending resolve to fight for peace and freedom.”

The White House Millennium Council challenged distinguished Americans and selected schoolchildren to imagine what a time capsule from the 20th century should contain. The adults came from the ranks of winners of the nation’s top presidential and congressional honors. The children were chosen by educators chosen as state teachers of the year. More than 1,300 people offered ideas.

The objects and artifacts are as varied as those who selected them:

* A public library card from the Boston Public Library, “the first library to let readers to take books home”--suggested by historian David McCullough.

* The alphabet of the Cherokee language--suggested by former Cherokee chief Wilma Mankiller, who voiced hope that her people’s language will still be spoken when the capsule is opened.

* The trademark sunglasses of singer and musician Ray Charles.

* GI dog tags, suggested by retired Army Gen. Colin L. Powell who said of America’s 20th century soldiers, “From whatever part of our great diversity they came from, they were made one by this simple metal symbol of their common cause and of their mortality.”

The list includes a statement on human rights by President Carter; a new African and African American encyclopedia; a film of Jackson Pollack creating one of his trademark “drip” paintings; a copy of the genetic code; photographs of the Earth from space and of the atomic bomb’s mushroom cloud over Hiroshima; a film, suggested by actor Gregory Peck, of Neil Armstrong’s landing on the moon; a microchip; a transistor; and the writings of a select group of Americans, including Eleanor and Franklin Roosevelt.

Words of hope came from children and adults alike.

“I hope the world is peaceful,” said Chloe White, 7, a pupil at Idaho’s Hayden Meadows Elementary School. “I wish that all children have a loving family. I wish someday I will help the world.”

A statement from scientist Paul C. W. Chu noted the discovery of high-temperature superconductivity, called it a product of the American determination to try the impossible, and said, “It could only happen in this unique land populated by dreamers from all four corners of the globe.”

One contributor suggested including the words of author William Faulkner as he accepted the 1950 Nobel Prize for literature:

“I believe that man will not merely endure: he will prevail. He is immortal, not because he alone among creatures has an inexhaustible voice, but because he has a soul, a spirit capable of compassion and sacrifice and endurance.”

The capsule will be packed and sealed Jan. 21.