The America250 time capsule is planned to be opened in 2276, 250 years after its 2026 burial.
The capsule is intended to preserve materials from the United States’ 250th-anniversary year for people living during the nation’s planned 500th anniversary. That creates an unusually long interval: the future opening would occur two and a half centuries after the America250 celebration.
The date is calculated directly from the anniversary year. Adding 250 years to 2026 produces 2276, which also corresponds to the year the United States would mark 500 years since the Declaration of Independence.
This project should not be confused with older American capsules, such as the Samuel Adams and Paul Revere time capsule in Boston. That earlier capsule was buried in 1795 and has already been opened and resealed several times.