Museum of Hydroelectric Power

Museum of Hydroelectric Power

Location

Via Roma 48
Cedegolo , BS
Musei
Musei, castelli e parchi archeologici
+39 0364 62 21 79
+39 342 84 75 113

The structure of the Museum stimulates a physical-rational-emotional participation: the body, the mind and the hearth work together in order to explain the transformation of a drop of water into electric power.

Let’s enter: we are in a big hall. In front of us a big picture shows us the old engine room in use.

The spheres’ room take us between earth and sky: we are in the atmosphere, we go into the clouds, the rain, the wind, the storms, the snow. A double videoprojection on opposing semispheres makes the history of transformations start. The drop goes down, it joins a stream and it flows into a river.

The Museum tells the construction and the operating method of the dams and the big hydroelectric works: on a large and curved surface, which reminds the shape of a dam, there are models of dams and dykes.

Sideways, through a series of old documentaries and art shortfilms, projections tell the epic story of the great hydroelectric works, the history of the construction of reservoirs, pipelines, canals and water works often made at a high altitude.

A big iron cylinder leads to a new material and sensory experience: accompanied by a roaring noise, we cross a penstock.

We are in the ex engine room, where there is a waterwheel-alternator from 1903, similar to the one used in the plant when it was in production. With the help of some video screens and animated cartoons, we can discover the secrets of this complex system. The narrative allows us to understand how the machines work and to explore the electric and electromagnetic fields, revealing the mysteries of the hydroelectric production.

At the end of the path, there is the Tree of the Electricity, formed by a group of historic trusses and by a big spark of bright shafts.

Educational laboratories

The proposal is targeted at children between 8 and 14 years old and it is aimed to bring together the workshop activity with a guided tour to a museum that tells the history of hydroelectric plants Vallecamonica.