Smithsonian exhibit collects visitors' hopes for the next 50 years

Transcript

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Geoff Bennett: Now to a story about what Americans wish for the future of the country.

Amna Nawaz: At the Smithsonian Museum of American History, a recent time capsule exhibit asked visitors to reflect on their hopes for the next 50 years.

Student reporters Alia Soliman, Diarra Gangazha and Jayden Hall from PBS News’ journalism training program Student Reporting Labs bring us the story.

Question: And you’re here today at the Smithsonian National Museum of American History?

Gino, New Jersey: Yes.

Question: Amazing. Did you get to write your wish for the future?

GINO: Yes, I did.

Question: Wow. What did you wish for?

Question: World peace.

Narrator: Here at the Smithsonian Museum of American History in Washington, D.C., Adam Rozan is the director of Civic Season.

Adam Rozan, Civic Season Director, National Museum of American History: We have this beautiful mural behind me designed by 25-year-old Katie Costa from Atlanta, Georgia.

Woman: I wish that we could respect one another a little more and see the beauty in humans as they are, even with our differences.

Girl: I’m just going to agree with her.

Narrator: When the exhibit ends, all the letters will be collected by the Smithsonian’s archivists and stored away.

Adam Rozan: Your wish included in a time capsule held by the Smithsonian Institution Archives for 50 years. It’s going to reopen June 19, 2075. Imagine that.

We could also then see, how do we do as a society moving forward 50 years, when we’re able to actually turn the corner on some of these issues? We have so many wishes about curing cancer. Have we gotten closer to curing it? That’s what I’m seeing on the wall, all sorts of things that are both beautiful, powerful, emotional.

Girl: I wish that soldiers don’t die in every single war.

Girl: I wish soldiers could come back, see their families and explore the world, basically.

Narrator: Alex Edgar is the youth engagement manager at Made By Us, an organization that connects institutions like museums and libraries to young adults.

Alex Edgar, Youth Engagement Manager, Made By Us: We know that young people are really civically active and they care a lot about their country and they want to be involved.

Ian, North Carolina: I wish that anybody who’s scared to do anything and just doesn’t have the confidence to just put themselves out there or just take that risk, I just pray that they can just have that confidence to do that.

Alex Edgar: Whether you’re 4 years old and all you can do is draw a little picture of world peace, or you’re 90 years old and you’re sharing life lessons that you have learned, every person can walk up to and say, this is for me.

Deborah, California: We all would treat each other like we are children of God created in his image and likeness and that we would all share our resources and support each other in that way.

Amanda, California: I wish that our country could be a model for respecting the rights of everyone on our country’s soil, no matter how they got here.

Adam Rozan: What I love about this wall is that we have so much more in common with one another than we actually think we do, right? We want safe schools. We want a clean, beautiful country and society.

Daniel, Maryland: Everybody deserves to achieve their goals, strive on what they want.

Eric, Washington: I wish that my kids inherit a good, healthy planet.

Alex Edgar: Young people are the future inheritors of our country, but they’re also the leaders of today.

Josephine, Virginia: We’re all responsible for keeping this world peaceful and clean and making sure that we’re just being kind individuals.

Mary, Illinois: I wish that there was no war. I wish that everyone could just be happy and healthy and get along like our children do.

Narrator: For PBS News Student Reporting Labs, we are Alia Soliman, Diarra Gangazha and Jayden Hall in Washington, D C.