POTSDAM -- The North Country Children's Museum recently received $28,000 from the Alcoa Foundation.

The grant award will help to fund an Adirondack waterplay exhibit in the museum’s future home at 10 Raymond St.

The Adirondack Waterplay Exhibit, designed for children 12 and under, incorporates a mini-hydroelectric dam and a wind power interactive among other experiences to promote environmental education. The natural science, ecology, and technology of our region is explored through water play and hands-on discovery built into a river and lake design. The exhibit has a focus on climate change and biodiversity in our region. Children will explore ecosystems connected by water running from the tops of the Adirondack Peaks to the St. Lawrence River.

These ecosystems will be incorporated into the exhibit through age-appropriate interactive signage and activities.

“Hydroelectric power is a major component of the Alcoa Massena Smelting Process. It is exciting to see that the NCCM exhibit will include examples of environmentally friendly power sources. It will be a fun way for kids to learn how becoming the next generation of engineers and scientists can make a positive impact,” Mitch Nemier, Alcoa Massena Operations Technical and Power Systems Manager, said in a prepared statement from the museum.