The America250 time capsule is scheduled to be opened in 2276, 250 years after its 2026 burial.
The capsule was designed as a message from the United States at its Semiquincentennial to the nation’s 500th anniversary. Its opening year, 2276, is therefore exactly 250 years after the 2026 anniversary and 500 years after the Declaration of Independence was adopted in 1776.
Time capsules preserve objects and messages for people in a distant future, but this one has an unusually long planned interval. Its contents represent the states, territories, and organizations participating in the national commemoration. The project links the 250th anniversary to a future milestone rather than treating the celebration as a single day.
The year 2276 is easy to misread as the anniversary year itself. America’s 250th anniversary is 2026; 2276 is the planned opening year, when the United States would reach its 500th anniversary.