Muritai School in the Lower Hutt suburb of Eastborne is losing time - in more ways than one.
In 1997 the school put together a time capsule and hid it onsite - trouble is, an important deadline is looming and they just can't seem to find it.
As the clock ticks down to the school's 125th jubilee, the little hands of students have been given a big hand in the form of metal detectors.
Former staff and pupils say it's in the field or perhaps by the flagpole, others say it might be under the stage in the hall.
Speculations vary on the capsule's contents, from former students' notes, to CDs from 1997, to precious gold.
"It's like a needle in a haystack," one student told Seven Sharp.
"Everyone in the community wants to find it, so I think it will be found," another said.
One pupil initially thought the big hunt was for a time machine - a device that doesn't exist, but would be quite handy in times like these.
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