By Noah Dawson
Music, food, and free admission to the Don Harrington Discovery Center attracted local residents as the Helium Time Columns Monument celebrated the opening of the 50 year column on September 29th.
Items placed in the time capsule in 1968 were on display inside the Discovery Center, which had free admission before 2pm. During the event, several speakers, including Amarillo City Council member Howard Smith spoke. In addition to reading a proclamation on behalf of the city council marking the event, Smith spoke about how “Amarillo is the capital of the world on many fronts.” He mentioned that Amarillo is the Beef Capital, the Tiltrotor Capital, the Wind Capital, and the Helium Capital. He also mentioned that Amarillo “may wind up being the Sod Poodle Capital of the world,” referencing the controversial proposed baseball team name, and that Amarillo is the “Orange Cone Capital of the world,” referencing the amount of road work currently occurring in Amarillo.
Also speaking at the event was Dr. Aaron Pan, executive director at the Don Harrington Discovery Center. Dr. Pan encouraged the public to submit suggestions for items to be placed in the now empty time capsule, which will be opened again in 2093. Submissions can be made through a form online at heliumtimecapsule.com. Though the online form mentions the deadline is October 1st, Dr. Pan said at the event that they will be taking submissions until Friday, October 5th.
