A recently discovered “Look into the Future” project that was undertaken by children at Central College Elementary School in October 1989, reveals some thought-provoking predictions from 30 years ago.
Then-principal Bette Marschall wrote, “Students of the Central College Magnet School have attempted to look into the future and make predictions concerning some topics that are of particular interest to all of us. We hope we have been correct in some of our predictions; but in many ways, we hope you have the opportunity to enjoy life as we know it today.”
What will people do for entertainment in the future? Third graders guessed they would live in big houses, make lots of money, watch talking T.V. phones, have pets, program robots, sing, read books, jump rope, play with jet pogo balls, dance, skateboard, hula-hoop, surf, ride turbo skis, travel, watch fireworks, get married and go to the zoo.
What kinds of clothes might we wear in the future? Some thought people would wear spacesuits that look like regular clothes, clothes that help you do things with “0” gravity so you can float places, and clothes made out of mud, paper, yarn, rubber, grass, rags, leaves, new kinds of cloth, metal and straw. Others predicted that humans might have to dress like cavemen if our resources are gone, or wear bathing suits all the time because the world “may be covered with water.”
Where might we vacation in the future? Thoughts included outer space, under the ocean, at Disney World on the moon, in underground restaurants, at the North Pole, in Hawaii, in a volcano and in the USSR.
What types of transportation will people of the future use? Flying cars, rockets on wheels, an ocean subway, a swimming pool on wheels, vehicles that can go under water and fly in the sky, one-person jet rockets, long trains, mopeds, and roller coasters that go half way to the center of the earth.