With a small stream and minimal head, you can run a water wheel to power a bit of sculpture, etc. But you can also use an hydraulic ram system to pump the water higher. The house I grew up in used rams to provide water to all toilets in the house, and for irrigation of the lawn, etc. The water - minus the cost of the rams - was free. The rams, old school metal ones, lasted for 40 years until a major flood took them out. The stream was small and had only 5 feet of head. Most of the water went downstream, but more than enough was available for other things. I am working on a ram now for my small stream just to fill some cattle water troughs. That keeps the animals out of the creek and keeps the creek pristine.
A friend of mine who worked at a pumped storage hydro utility station, used a ram to fill a small pond up on a hill. He used it for decor and fishing, but always said he could put a turbine generator on it and get about 6 hours of good electricity out of it - lots of volume and lots of head. However, he'd have had to take a week to re-fill it. But you can get electricity out of a small stream... Just not a lot for a long time.