WANAPUM DAM — The sign on the door says the new hydro museum at Wanapum Dam is almost finished – but not quite.

A grand opening is being planned, with the date to be announced, according to Tom Stredwick, public information specialist for the Grant County PUD.

The museum is in the new office building at the dam, about 2,000 square feet of exhibit space, Stredwick said. The new museum replaces the previous museum located near the base of the dam; that building is now inside a fenced area requiring permission to enter.

The old museum featured exhibits of the Wanapum Native American people, for whom the dam is named, along with exhibits on hydropower and managing the river’s ecosystem. When the old museum closed, the PUD built a new museum and cultural center dedicated to the Wanapum at Priest Rapids Dam. It opened this fall.

The new hydro museum cost about $1 million, Stredwick said. Its exhibits focus on Wanapum Dam, hydropower production, how the dams affect the river and wildlife, and how the PUD works to mitigate the impact.

The exhibits were developed by a company called Formations, and PUD employees worked with the company to produce them, Stredwick said. The goal was to give visitors a look at some of the sights and sounds of the dam and an opportunity to learn more about its operations.

“Hands-on interactive,” Stredwick said, especially for children.

There are video tours of the dam, including places where the public usually isn’t allowed. There are some history lessons about the dam’s construction, and a chance to see some of the tools used, then and now.

Kids (and adults) are given the opportunity to operate the dam in a mock control room. There’s a relief map of the area between Rock Island Dam and Priest Rapids Dam, which was an exhibit in the previous museum.

There’s also plenty of information about wildlife, a look at the different kinds of fish along the river – at life size, too – and how biologists harvest fish to ensure the survival and enhancement of fish populations.

It’s not all technology; there’s also room for some art, a light fixture in the shape of turbine blades, schools of fish swimming from the ceiling.

The grand opening should be sometime in November or early December.