The steam pumps Leeghwater and Lijnden were renewed over the course of time whereby their capacity was increased to the point that De Cruquius ceased to be needed in 1932 and was furnished as an industrial history museum. The oldest steam engine in the Netherlands was set up in the museum in 1950. It is a weighing machine, built in 1826 by the firm Cockerill in Seraing for the paddle wheel pump of the Arkel Dam close to Gorinchem. Since 1993, the engine has been set in motion once again by powering the fly wheel with an electric engine. Here visitors can also see a centrifugal pump dating from 1879 which was originally steam driven - also the oldest of its kind in the Netherlands.
History comes to life with the aid of maps, photos and video and moving models.
The centrepiece of the exhibition is a large model of the Netherlands which shows the results of a storm flood. What once was the superintendent's cottage has been converted to a tea-house. The museum has a large, landscaped garden where a large area has been devoted to wild plants. Every Monday, an enthusiastic group is hard at work to make the great steam pump operational once more.