The anticipated opening of The Bowers Center will be in fall 2019

The Bowers Center for Sports, Fitness and Well-being broke ground in Feb. 2018 after the Elizabethtown College campus community identified a needed space where students could practice holistic health and wellness. The facility will serve as a hub for students, faculty, and staff to come together for health promotion. With it being the largest building project in the history of the College, Vice President of Student Life, Dr. Celestino Limas and student leaders wanted to capitalize on this historic moment at E-town.

“The genesis for the concept came from students themselves in response to our colleagues in Facilities Management discovering an individual item left in the building site of Lyet Hall in 2007,” Limas recalled. “This was an outstanding idea by students and I put a call out asking for items–some are heartfelt, some are whimsical, but all reflect life on campus here at E-town and that was the goal.  Unearthing and opening the capsule in 30 years will be a wonderful event.”

The response to the request was overwhelming. More than 150 suggestions for items flooded in which was later narrowed to 70 pieces to ensure they could fit in the capsule. These items were selected to represent the state of the College in 2019 and give the future students of E-town a glimpse of the year the Bowers Center opened. The items range from photos of student organization members to class T-shirts to a letter from the new Director of the building, Whitney Jones.

The capsule was buried on July 12, 2019, under the Gaga Pit, adjacent to the Bowers Center and will remain there until 2049. View a slideshow of the time capsule below.