Pop-up celebration of Hydro Tasmania centenary opens at Launceston Museum

The best stories from Hydro Tasmania's 100 years of operation are being told in a travelling exhibition.

The exhibition 100 Years of Hydro opens in Launceston tomorrow, marking the centenary of the set up of the Hydro-Electric Department in October 1914.

Housed in a customised shipping container, the exhibition tells the stories of the people who built and worked on Hydro Tasmania projects.

Hydro Tasmania's Lara van den Berg said the exhibition also focused on the stories of the communities and culture built around the schemes.

"It tells the stories of the families, the women and also the children that actually grew up in some of those quite remote hydro-electric villages, and those stories are fascinating," she said.

The exhibition features items from a bygone era, as well as showcasing newer technology.

"People will get to see some of the enormous spanners that were actually designed and built here in Tasmania to enable operation of the equipment," Ms Van den Berg said.

It covers the early years of construction at Waddamana where workers toiled through tough conditions.

The travelling exhibition is housed in a 12-metre shipping container.

Queen Victoria Museum exhibition manager Andrew Johnson said it was exciting to be part of the centenary celebrations.

"It probably is a first to have an exhibition like this in our front yard," he said.

The exhibition moves to Queenstown and Hobart in October, before settling in Tarraleah.

The Hydro-Electric Department was set up in October 1914 and its name later changed to the Hydro-Electric Commission.