national great rivers museum

We went on one of the free tours up the elevator to see the lock and dam. This was an amazing experience. The weather was 61 degrees (one of the first warm days of the season) so it was warm enough to be outside, but still very neat watching the large chunks of ice go over the edge. Our guide was excellent! They only take up to 25 people per tour, so make sure you sign the paper at the desk when you get there to be sure to do the tour. Our tour was at 3 pm, the last one of the day. We had just missed the 1 pm tour. Many of the other lock and dams in the area don't provide tours. You may get lucky enough to see a boat come through.

We were lucky to be here today to watch the Masters of the Sky exhibit. Beautiful exhibition of birds. The Centre is beautiful and is worthy of a 5 rating. Please stop when you go thru here.

This museum is well worth stopping at. It is smaller, but has excellent exhibits that appeal to all ages. Really does an excellent job of explaining the "lock and dam" mechanism. Even my 3 year old granddaughter enjoyed it.

This museum is located next to the Melvin Price Locks and Dam. It offers a wealth of information about the Mississippi, ecosystems and how the Army Corps of Engineers operates locks and dams. There are many interactive exhibits.If you visit the museum, there are 2 must do's,1) Go to the interactive exhibit of 3D simulators and drive a barge through the locks on the Mississippi. It is a great way to understand how the locks and dam system works.2) Take the tour of the Melvin Price Locks and Dam. Each day, yearlong, at 10 a.m. 1 and 3 p.m., an Army Corps representative will take you in an elevator to the top of the lock and dam and explain how they work. If a barge happens to be going through the lock, you will see first hand how it works. It is very cool, very informational and you can see for miles up and down river. Just a couple of notes: the elevator does take you to a tremendous height above the river so you might want to take that into consideration if you have height issues. Also, bring a jacket, cap etc. because it can be windy.The best thing about all of this is the museum and the lock/dam tour are free.

Came here mainly to get a tour of the adjacent Melvin Price dam but this place is a good overview on the river and it's history. They have a simulator so you can pretend that you are driving a boat plus its kid friendly. The dam tour was the highlight as its one of only a few you can tour. Our tourguide while rather new was pretty knowledgeable and she was good at answering our questions. We saw the locks operate with leisure boats passing through plus the views were great. You get great views of Alton and the Clark Bridge plus downtown St. Louis can be seen far in the distance.

You have to stop for a thrill to drive a mock up river boat like the barge Captains! See how water affects your life and how much water you use in a year! check it out!

My 12 year old grandson and I lucked out and arrived here just as a tow pushing 9 barges was entering the lock. We watched in amazement as the pilot steered the barges into the lock - then watched the lock doors close behind it - then the water rising and lifting the barges 17 feet - etc. My grandson didn't want to leave, but I was able to get him inside to the museum. Again he didn't want to leave - there are quite a few "hands on" exhibits and displays that truly are interesting. And yes, they do have a gift shop (actually very nicely stocked with affordable souvenirs).

There were several exhibits on display, but one of the most fun things was to watch the lock for the large barge open and close (new experience) and see the barge go through. One could look right down on the action.

Lots of history pertaining to life on the river and a good explanation of why we need locks and what barges do in comparison to other means of transportation. There's even an area where you can (through a video game type activity) steer a barge through the locks - the children visiting the museum seemed to love this along with the interactive displays! We visited on a July morning so it wasn't busy by any means and the price can't be beat (free!) although there are donation boxes right inside the door. There are tours of the dam available also.

A great way to learn important lessons about why everyone needs to take an interest in understanding and preserving our rivers. And watching boats come through the locks was slow but fascinating. Free family fun definitely worth the stop.

We were on our way home from another stop when we decided to check it out. A pleasant surprise. Where we live in New Hampshire there are the remains of locks from more than 150 years ago. We visited a lock in Seattle and the Weiland Canal near Niagara Falls. The museum and the tour by a very knowledgeable and friendly guide was amazing. There were lots of pelicans and a great blue heron. We watched 12 barges joined together enter the lock, be broken down into two 6 barge sections that then went through the lock one at a time. But the most interesting part was learning how the Mississippi flows from the source to the Gulf of Mexico and the dams control the flow maintaining high enough water levels for shipping and low enough to prevent flooding over the levees. We had an adventure too - a thunderstorm was visible in the West and rushing toward us as we were nearly at the end of our tour above the locks. Our guide finished the presentation back down in the museum.

We came down for the weekend for the Great RIvers Festival, held at the museum. They had very nice attractions, vendors, music and more.

This place was not on our places to visit when taking a Spring Break trip to St Louis, but so glad we took the short drive to Alton. Very educational. There was a barge simulator and luck was with us as a real barge was coming thru the locks. The volunteer was wonderful. She spent time talking with our eight yr old. Pointed out things we had missed.

A great little museum. I recommend taking the shuttle tour for eagle and bird watching. We spotted several eagles, and varieties of water fowl on the roof lookout spots and the shuttle tour. Friendly, knowledgable staff.

This is a great place for all ages. There are so many interesting exhibits, my favorite is the "drive the barge" simulator. The tour was good, you go up in an elevator and across the lock, very informative. There is a bike trail nearby.