The Transit of Venus Time Keg is a modest snapshot of the 21st century transit of Venus experience.  The time capsule contents originally consisted of letters written by observers of the 2012 transit of Venus as the planet clearly passed in front of the sun on June 5.  The Time Keg was set up at a school site in Mishawaka, IN, and later at The Livery microbrewery in Benton Harbor, MI.  While the intention had been to close the Time Keg that day, I postponed closure so I could solicit additional and more varied artifacts. The Transit of Venus Time Keg will instead be closed and sealed on October 27, 2012, at the Great Lakes Planetarium Association (GLPA) 2012 Annual Conference in Pittsburgh, PA.

If you wish to submit larger contents in advance, please contact Chuck Bueter to confirm space is available. Consider the need to preserve all contents over 100 years when offering your artifacts for inclusion.  For example, letters should be written on acid-free paper with permanent black marker.  Have some fun with it and offer your personal perspective on the transit of Venus.  What would excite you if you were to open a message from across time? 

The keg itself is a stainless steel vessel donated by The Livery microbrewery in Benton Harbor, Michigan. In pulling the keg from storage, right, brewer Steve Berthel describes it as an "early-60's Hoff-Stevens keg, the old-school kind."    

Harry Miller of The Apprentice Academy in South Bend, Indiana, modified the bottom so the Time Keg could accept contents that fit within a 6-inch diameter opening.  Once the keg is filled with artifacts, a metal plate Miller made will be caulked and bolted over the large opening.  Additionally, an aluminum plug fits into the side bung hole that would have been filled by a wooden plug in the keg's beer days. Miller also fashioned a small metal bar that bolts over the new plug to keep it in place over time. 

An attached plaque will cite the year the keg is sealed and instructions to open it after 100 years.  The Transit of Venus Time Keg will initially be stored and exhibited at the Penn-Harris-Madison (PHM) Digital Video Theater, which also houses an Air & Space Museum.  Under the direction of Art Klinger, the PHM facility has been active in transit of Venus education and public outreach in northern Indiana for both the 2004 and 2012 celestial events.

An excerpt from the live Slooh broadcast during the transit of Venus shows the Transit of Venus Time Keg with some commentary by contributor Kate Rueff.  Watch from 1:14:33 to about 1:22:00 at http://youtu.be/zcQgkqK2cEo.