INUVIK - Inside Sir Alexander Mackenzie School's kitchen Feb. 22, a small group of Girl Guides and Sparks swarmed a mysterious time capsule sealed 25 years ago to the day.

Within about a minute they had some interesting artifacts in their hands that left a few of them gasping and giggling.

Girl Guides, Sparks and Brownies display some of the items they uncovered from a 25-year-old time capsule at Sir Alexander Mackenzie School on Feb. 22. Back row from left are Erica Wall (Guide leader), Zoila Castillo (Brownie and Sparks leader), Candace Seddon (Guide leader) and Maddy Price. In the middle row are Joelle Charlie, Delanie Elias, Charleigh Merring-Blake, Melanie Hopkins, Pearl Gillis, Caitlyn Church and Ashley Healey, and in front, Mystique English and Mataya Gillis. - Andrew Rankin/NNSL photo

Back in 1985, the Inuvik Girl Guides sealed off a collection of items in a box that offered a glimpse into what their lives were like.

Melanie Hopkins checked out some photographs of girls in the old-style Girl Guide uniforms, which she noted were a little unsightly, especially the brown colour.

But she said the time capsule was a great idea.

"It was really cool," she said. "I really liked seeing what Girl Guides back then looked like."

Perhaps the most excited of the lot was guide leader Candace Seddon, who found out about the package that day, after getting a call from town employee Paul Watters. The mysterious package was discovered at the town office about a year ago. Instructions on the box ordered it to be opened on Feb. 22, 2010.

"Seeing the pictures of the Girl Guides reminded me of my guide uniform and being a guide," Seddon said with a laugh.

The capsule also included handwritten greetings from the 1985 guides, photographs of town institutions such as SAMS, the town office and the Igloo Church. Other memorabilia was uncovered, including stationery, napkins, balloons, and posters marking the occasion.

Until the box was opened, nobody knew when the capsule was made.

It turned out the capsule was put together for Girl Guides Canada's 75th anniversary and was to be opened on its 100th anniversary.

Known as "Thinking Day" to Girl Guides across the world, Feb. 22 was the birth date of both group founders, Lord and Lady Baden-Powell, and is celebrated every year.

Seddon said she was surprised to recognize some of the membership names in the capsule. One of them was Lisa Beattie, 33, who still lives in Inuvik with her daughter, though she doesn't remember participating in the time capsule project.

"It was one of the best childhood memories that I have," Beattie said of her years with the Girl Guides. "We did a lot of fun things back then. We learned a lot. We did a lot of camping and were out and about. We had a great crew."

Seddon said she'll do her best to keep carrying on the tradition.

"It's just such a great program for young girls in the community to teach them new skills and teach them about community service as well as being good people."

This year's guides may even make a time capsule of their own.

"We haven't thought about it, but it's something that I'd like to do," said Seddon.