Events and Enrichment » Time Capsule

Time Capsule

ABC News Covers the Palms Time Capsule Ceremony (Saturday, May 16, 2026)

What Was in the 1976 Time Capsule

Download these documents for descriptions and photos of each item that we found  in the 1976 Time Capsule.

Photos from the Time Capsule Ceremony

Time Capsule T-shirts and Hoodies: Limited Supply

T-shirt front T-shirt back hoodie front hoodie back

Our specially designed T-shirts and hoodies celebrate the Palms Year of the Time Capsule and the United States 250th Anniversary.  A few in each size are available while supplies last.

Shop for Time Capsule T-shirts and hoodies

What did you think was in the Time Capsule?

May News

Time Capsule Ceremony

Over 300 people attended the ceremony on Saturday, May 16, 2026.

Speakers included:

  • Principal Mr. Enriquez
  • Magnet Coordinator Dr. Kelley Girvan
  • California State Senator Lola Smallwood-Cuevas (District 28)
  • Los Angeles City Council member Katy Yaroslavsky (District 5)
  • Mia Thiagarajan, representative for U.S. Congress member Ted Lieu (District 36)
  • Karen Calderon, representative for California State Assembly member Isaac Bryan (District 55)
  • LAUSD Board of Education member Sherlett Hendy Newbill (District 1)
  • Event Coordinator Dr. Neil Cuada
  • 1976 Palms Junior High School Student Body President Dr. Kyndall Brown
  • Students from Sixth Grade Leadership
  • Students from Senior Leadership

Palms was presented with three Certificates of Recognition for the occasion.

A new Palms Panther mascot and flag were presented, the 1976 Time Capsule was opened, and 19 Palms students put the first items into the 2026 Time Capsule.

Class of 1976/1977/1978 Reunion

Nearly 60 former Palms students from 1976 got together in the Student Cafeteria to meet long-lost friends and reminisce about attending Palms Junior High School when the Time Capsule was buried.

"What's in the Time Capsule?" contest

Students predicted what we would find in the 1976 Time Capsule. They earned points for each correct guess but lost points for each incorrect guess. Dozens of students entered the contest.

Congratulations to the winners for their excellent predictions!

  • First place: Oscar Ashby (6th grade)
  • Second place: Zurie Dinani (7th grade)
  • Third place: Ela Veli (8th grade)

They each won a Time Capsule T-shirt. As first place winner, Oscar also won a Time Capsule hoodie.

April News

Time Capsule ceremony: Students and their families who wanted to attend the Time Capsule ceremony on Saturday, May 16, 2026 completed the reservation form and checked-in upon arrival.

Doors opened at 9am. The ceremony began at 10am.

Donate!

Donate any amount

Donors are helping us prepare and bury the 2026 Time Capsule. Your tax-deductible donation will be used for

  • the Time Capsule container
  • some of its contents
  • archival-quality photo printing and digital storage
  • a ground marker
  • expenses for the 1976 Time Capsule unveiling on May 16

Donations of any amount are gratefully accepted for this once-in-a-generation Palms Middle School project. You can pay with PayPal, Apple Pay, Google Pay, credit cards, or a linked bank.

Donor special recognition

  • Those who donated $100 or more by April 30, 2026 had their names engraved on a Palms Time Capsule Supporters plaque, sealed in the 2026 Time Capsule.
  • Those who donated $200 or more were designated as Platinum Donors.

March News

Time Capsule Weekly Surveys are complete. Math students have made graphs of the results that will be placed in the 2026 Time Capsule.

Two donation drives were in progress:

  • Time Capsule fundraising: Donate any amount
  • Time Capsule contents: Families and organizations donated items from our Time Capsule Wishlist. Thank you to our donors!

February news

The Time Capsule Art Contest winners are shown on the Art Contest page. Congratulations to the winning students, whose art will be placed in the 2026 Time Capsule!

Time Capsule Weekly Surveys continue. The previous surveys were about food, sports, music, TV, and movies. The current survey is about fun and games, with a submission deadline of Friday, February 27. The charts or graphs made by math students, showing the survey results, will be placed in the 2026 Time Capsule.

January news

The date is set! We will be opening the 1976 Time Capsule and unveiling the contents on Saturday, May 16, 2026, from 10:00am to 11:00am, on the central quad. Stay tuned for news about attending this event.

The Time Capsule Art Contest ended on Friday, January 23, a week after the original deadline, because some students needed extra time to complete their artwork. All entries must be turned in by 3:30pm.

Time Capsule Weekly Surveys  began on January 26. Each week, we're asking students about their favorites on a given topic, such as food. Math students make charts showing the survey results, and the charts will go in the Time Capsule when it's buried in May. This way, students of the future will be able to learn about students of the present.

December news

The Time Capsule Art Contest has begun.

Students are invited to submit original artwork that reflects any part of this year’s Time Capsule theme. Three winners will be selected for each grade level. The winning entries will be placed in the Palms Time Capsule that we'll bury in 2026, to be opened in 2076.

See complete details and the Contest Rules on the Art Contest page.

The Search is On... for Palms Students from 1976!

We're looking for students who attended Palms Junior High School in 1976. We're searching school records, using social media, asking volunteers to help with the search, and using word-of-mouth connections.

If you are a 1976 Palms student

If you attended Palms Junior High School in the 1975-1976 school year, please fill out our Former Palms Junior High School survey: https://bit.ly/PalmsJuniorHighSchool

If you know how to contact a 1976 Palms student

Please email us their contact information.

If you want to help us search for 1976 Palms students

To help via Facebook, please join the Palms Middle School Time Capsule group.

To help in other ways, please fill out the Time Capsule Volunteer Form.

Palms 2026 Yearbook

The Time Capsule Project will be prominently featured in the 2026 Palms Yearbook.

The Yearbook will include a "Then and Now" page showing former Palms students from 1976, pairing their original Yearbook photo with their current photo!

Order your Yearbook now.

This year's school theme: Past, Present, and Future

Our slogan: "Study the Past! Observe the Present! Imagine the Future!"

1976 was the United States Bicentennial (200-year anniversary)

BURIED TREASURE? In 1976, the students of Palms Junior High School buried a Time Capsule on the central quad. We don't know what's in it! Are you curious? What's your guess?

2026 will be the United States Semiquincentennial (250-year anniversary)

THE BIG DIG! In Spring 2026, the students and staff of Palms Middle School will dig up the 1976 Time Capsule and bury a new Time Capsule representing the year 2026! What should we put in it?

We'll plan and celebrate this project throughout the 2025-2026 school year, thinking back to the year 1976, thinking about what to put in our Time Capsule, and thinking ahead to the year 2076.

2076 will be the United States Tricentennial (300-year anniversary)

IN THE FUTURE: In 2076, 50 years from now, we hope that the students of Palms Middle School will dig up our Time Capsule and learn about us and about the year 2026!

Time Capsule News Coverage

See Also

Art Contest

Time Capsule Apparel

Weekly Surveys

Time Capsule Project Leaders

Principal Mr. Enriquez

Arturo Enriquez
Principal