What one small, meaningful object would you choose to tell future residents of Hawaii what life in the islands is like right now?

There’s going to be a new time capsule installed at the state Capitol, and you have a chance to suggest what should go inside.

If you recall, the items in the original time capsule, tucked within the building during construction 50 years ago and unsealed in December, were less than thrilling: a copy of the state Constitution, a Guide to Government in Hawaii, annual reports for each state agency. Bureaucratic stuff.

This time, there’s a chance to get creative. The public is being asked for suggestions of items that tell the story of this era in Hawaii.

A state task force has been planning for the new time capsule, which will be installed at the closing of this legislative session on May 1. Ideas on what to include can be submitted online at 808ne.ws/2Sl0lg2.

“Each item should somehow represent the culture of Hawaii today, something significant that has happened recently or something that is happening now,” said Katie Stephens, an architect who serves on the task force.

A committee of task force members will evaluate submissions based on size (every item needs to fit in the box and leave room for other stuff), ease of acquisition (not too expensive or difficult to obtain), historical and cultural significance and, of course, the ability of the item to be preserved over time (so don’t get cute and suggest manapua because that joke won’t get too far).

“We will definitely be keeping the preservability of the objects first and foremost in our mind,” said Adam Jansen, state archivist.

“We will also be following Smithsonian and national archives guidelines for how the items are packed and stored. We are going so far as to have a more preservation-friendly time capsule created. Instead of using copper with a heat solder to seal, the new capsule will be made out of stainless steel with a bolt on the cover. This will be much friendlier to the objects contained within and eliminate any potential damage to the objects from heat,” Jansen said.

The state also is seeking the public’s help to reproduce photographs of Hawaii that were taken by the Honolulu Star-Bulletin and included in the 1969 capsule, matching the framing and angle of the original as much as possible (while practicing safe and legal drone operation, of course). Images of the original photos are linked on the website.

The new time capsule will be put into the same spot the original time capsule was located, behind a large bronze plaque. This new one won’t be buried quite so deep, though, and “it will have handles in order to more easily remove it from the puka,” Stephens said.

Another upgrade: Detailed instructions will be left on where it is. The only record of the first time capsule was newspaper coverage of the day it was sealed into the concrete with a somewhat vague indication of where it was.

Another consideration in choosing what goes inside is the ability for someone 50 or 100 years from now to be able to read or view the item, so things like DVDs and flash drives that require today’s technology would probably be hopelessly outdated in the future. Other suggestions will come from the senior class of each high school in Hawaii.

The committee will announce the top 20 suggestions received but how many make it into the time capsule will not be revealed. That way, it will be a bit of a surprise when the time capsule is opened.

The timing of when that will happen is being left to future Hawaii leaders.

Reach Lee Cataluna at 529-4315 or lcataluna@staradvertiser.com.