 The National Great Rivers Museum, opened
in October of 2003, is one of eleven planned regional visitor centers operated
by the U. S. Army Corps of Engineers. Located adjacent to the Melvin Price Locks
and Dam, this 12,000-square-foot facility is the result of a collaboration of
the Corps and the nonprofit Meeting of the Great Rivers Foundation and tells the
story of the Mississippi River. The Museum features state of the art interactive
displays and exhibits that help visitors understand the many aspects of the
Mississippi River and how it affects our lives.
The
natural ecosystem of the Mississippi River and how humans interact with it is
one of the major themes of the museum. A large model of the bluffs (photo right)
of the region is in the center of the museum and provides information on the
various wildlife from prairie plants and trees to birds and other animals. An
aquarium displays the various species of fish that inhabit the Mississippi
River. The mechanics of the river and how soil is made, erosion and how working
models of the river help scientists make decisions affecting the river are
explained. At one station visitors can estimate how much fresh water their
household uses a day and at another visitors can send e-mail postcards from
their hometown.
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 Another
theme is how the Mississippi River has been home to many people
throughout the ages, from the Mississippian culture that called nearby
Cahokia Mounds home to the time when European settlers began arriving.
Before the paved highways of today, rivers were the preferred mean of
transportation and one display explains how the Mississippi has been
used as a highway, not only by humans but by migrating waterfowl, and
chronicles the different the types of vessels used from canoes, through
keelboats and steamboats, to modern day barges. The Pilot House (photo
right,) a simulator based on software actually used to train river
pilots at the Center for Maritime Education in Paducah, Kentucky, allows
visitors to see what it's like to guide a 1,000-foot tow of barges under
a bridge or through a lock. The construction of the Melvin Price Locks
and Dam is explained and working models explain how the system of locks and dams
make river traffic possible on the Upper Mississippi. Free
tours, accessible by wheelchair, of the Melvin Price Locks and Dam are
conducted daily at 10 am, 1 pm, and 3 pm. Also explained are what causes floods, with
emphasis on the Great Flood of 1993, and how the Corps of Engineers fights these
destructive acts of nature, and what future strategies are being developed to
limit their impact.
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The Illinois Esplanade Park is along the
entrance road to the Museum and has picnic facilities. The area is especially popular in the winter for Bald
Eagle watching as the eagles congregate below the locks and dam looking for
easy food. The Confluence Bikeway runs by the complex and connects with Lock and
Dam #27 in Granite City and the Lewis &
Clark State Historic Site in Hartford to the south and Alton to the west. The
Riverlands Environmental Demonstration Area is just across the Mississippi
via the Clark Bridge.
Two video
presentations are presented daily in the 105 seat Discovery Theater that is
located in the Museum. “Power of the River” tours
the river from its source to the mouth exploring
the culture that lives along its banks. "Lewis and Clark: A Confluence of Time
and Courage” tells the story of the Corps of Discovery from an Army and Native
American perspective. The Museum also operates a bookstore and gift shop.
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Visiting the National Great Rivers Museum
Visiting Hours
Open daily 9 am - 5 pm
Closed Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year's Day
There is no charge to visit the National Great
Rivers Museum.
Directions: The National Great Rivers Museum is located on IL-143 (the
Great River Road) south of the Clark Bridge between the communities of Alton and
Wood River.
 GPS
Coordinates
N 38 52.263
W 90 09.046
 Learn more about the and
Alton and
Wood
River areas.
The National Great Rivers Museum
The official website of the museum maintained by the U.S. Corps of Engineers.
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