National Great Rivers Museum, Illinois, United States
4.5 (109 reviews) Sunday: 9:00 AM - 5:00 PM Spent Ranking #3 in Alton Speciality Museums
Neat museum and fun tour of working Mississippi River Lock & Dam
Our family was driving through Alton trying to get a look at the recent flooding at the river and we decided to pull into the Melvin Price Lock & Dam for a closer look. We pulled in to find that there was a museum as well as free guided tours of the Lock & Dam. The museum was neat with interactive and interesting displays about the local area, how locks/dams work, and some other similar topics. The hilight for us was getting to take the guided tour. We actually took an elevator to the top of the dam and were able to walk across and look down at the different lock chambers and dam gates. The tour guide was excellent and shared interesting information about construction and functionality of Melvin Price and the Mississippi River dam and lock system. We got to observe some of the locking operations for a barge as well since the lock and dam continues to operate during the tour. Everything was free and we thoroughly enjoyed our visit.
Address
#2 Locks and Dam Way, Alton, IL 62002
Mobile
Website
http://www.mvs.usace.army.mil/Rivers/museum.html
Working hours
Monday :
Tuesday :
Wednesday : 9:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Thursday : 9:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Friday : 9:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Saturday : 9:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Sunday : 9:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Current local date and time now
Sunday, May 12, 2024, 18:30
User Ratings
4.5 based on (109 reviews)
Reviews
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5toelle 5:00 PM Oct 18, 2014
You will connect with The River
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.
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4Davigeta 5:00 PM Feb 4, 2023
Nice free museum, especially good for kids
My wife and I decided to check this museum out. The museum is adjacent to Lock and Dam #26 (Melvin Price Locks and Dam). A free tour of the facility is available, and we found it informative. There are a number of interactive exhibits about the great rivers and how locks and dams work. Informative to be sure, but it's designed most for children. There is also a children's activity area in the museum. There are 3 movies you can ask to be played, though we did not try any of them. One is a 1- hour movie on the Lewis and Clark expedition. The others are about 10 minutes. There is a small gift shop in the building, ok. Overall, worth a visit for adults, but especially for a family.
