As arid as the Sonoran Desert is, water is what brought humanity to the area.

Water has been an underlying force throughout the history of this area.

The L. Alan Cruikshank River of Time Museum has captured the essence of what water has meant throughout the ages. It now is undergoing a major remodel that will reflect that theme even more.

Starting from the front door and continuing through the facility, the River of Time Museum’s new look also will feature more interactive displays, historical artifacts and information about the development from the land and plants to humans.

Michelle Reid, Museum Services Director with Museum Pros, has spearheaded the remodeling project. Working since March, the project will be completed before the VIP opening Oct. 1, just ahead of the public opening Oct. 2.

“This has been an amazing project,” Reid said. “I just can’t say enough about the museum and the town. I think people will be very happy with the remodel.”

Reid, who has extensive background in museum work, including serving as executive director of the Heritage Square Foundation, learning along the way that small museums are her passion.

She and her team specialize in providing professional resources to small museums to help them achieve their goals.

The museum has been closed for more than a year due to the novel coronavirus, but during that time, Executive Director Cherie Koss and the museum’s board of directors have used the time to complete a number of projects, including the remodel.

“Almost the entire renovation has been funded (through grants and donations),” Koss said.

Because of those funds, the museum has been able to create a new look while keeping with the original mission.

“We pulled in more interactivity with science and ecology,” Reid said. “But the whole theme features the river (the Verde River), which has to be prominent.”

Reid said the remodeled museum also takes a deeper look at the desert, with attention paid to movement of living off the land. She said the message of how people lived in the desert and feature a “grocery store in the desert.”

She said there will be recipes of foods that can be made from desert plants and other interactive pieces.

The museum’s displays go on to tell the story of the Lower Verde River Valley from the trappers to Fort McDowell as a military outpost and finally as home to the Yavapai.

History has produced considerable tragedy for the Yavapai Nation, including when the people were moved to San Carlos until more modern times when developers planned to build a dam at the confluence of the Salt and Verde rivers, effectively removing the entire community.

Fortunately, the Orme Dam situation was settled, and the Yavapai Nation remains an important piece of the area. Those incidents are shown in the museum.

The Pattea family of Fort McDowell has been involved in the development of the Yavapai portion of the museum.

“We are so grateful for their involvement,” Koss said.

Other changes in the museum include the moving of the gift shop to another area of the museum, making way for other exhibits and activities. The hallway will be an art gallery featuring local artists depicting ecology, botanicals and other topics.

“We are really excited about the reopening,” Koss said. “I think people are going to be very pleased with the work we have done. Michelle and her team have been remarkable.”

This is the second time Reid has worked with the museum. In 2019, she organized the P-Bar Gala, one of the major fundraisers for the museum. That event is expected to be held again in 2022. Koss said this year with the remodeling, organizing the gala would be too difficult.

“We have been really busy during the pandemic,” Koss said.

She added that won’t stop when the museum reopens.

“We have lots of plans,” she said.