Yellowknife (Sep 20/06) - The Prince of Wales Northern Heritage Centre opened for visitors Sunday with its first exhibit since the museum closed for renovations in June.

However, parts of the centre could remain closed for a while, said director Charles Arnold.

"Rather than wait for all areas to open, we decided that it would be better if we opened it as independent exhibits were finished," he said. Next week we'll have the discovery gallery, the children's part of the museum, open."

Arnold hoped the retrofit, which cost $10 million over three years, would be done by December. "The last part is the auditorium, and that's going to take a little bit longer because it's a complicated renovation."

Arnold said the changes will lead to a boost in tourism.

"Tourists will come here, expecting to see quite a bit. What we're trying to do is, at the end of the month, have enough exhibits open that someone can spend an hour here."

On Oct. 1, the gallery will unveil an exhibit featuring Dene artifacts that haven't been on Canadian soil since the 1800's.

"These are items that were collected in the Hudson Bay area," he said.

They were then sold to Scottish traders who brought them back to a museum in Scotland.