Just a few blocks from the marina is the National Great Rivers Museum, opened in October of 2003, it is 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 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.
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 is 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.
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 is 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.
Hope to see you there!