Details for Helium Time Columns Monument and Museum
Historical Marker —
Atlas Number 5375002430
Data
Marker Number
2430
Atlas Number
5375002430
Marker Title
Helium Time Columns Monument and Museum
Index Entry
Helium Time Columns Monument and Museum
Address
1200 Streit Dr.
City
Amarillo
County
Potter
UTM Zone
14
UTM Easting
234714
UTM Northing
3899089
Subject Codes
geology
Marker Year
1968
Recorded Texas Historic Landmark
No
Marker Location
1200 Streit Drive, Amarillo Discovery Center, Amarillo.
Private Property
No
Marker Condition
In Situ
Marker Size
27" x 42"
Marker Text
Erected 1968, commemorating the 100th Anniversary of discovery of helium in the gaseous atmosphere surrounding the sun. (The discovery of traces of helium on earth was first announced in 1895.) The four time columns are filled with books, documents, and various artifacts that will tell future generations about life in 1968. After the time columns were filled, the caps were welded on and the contents sealed in a helium atmosphere. In twenty-five, fifty, one-hundred, and one thousand years from the time of filling, the four individual columns are to be opened. Helium is an element which occurs in commercial volume in natural gas produced since 1918 from wells in the Texas Panhandle. In 1929 the first of several helium processing plants began operations near Amarillo. Large quantities of helium extracted from natural gas are stored underground northwest of Amarillo, and will provide a valuable source of supply for many years. Once used only in lighter-than-air craft, helium now serves vital needs in industry, science, and the nation's military and space programs. (1968)
