This is a donation only museum located in Alton, Illinois near the River. They offer tours of the museum which includes going in areas that are only able to be accessed while on a tour.

Very cool place to visit and learn some interesting things. Lots of interactive and fun stuff for the kids.

Great educational experience about the Dam and history around St Louis Mississippi River. We even saw a live Eagles nest from looking into their telescope. Free Tour of Dam, it’s not a long tour but very educational.

Fun place to visit and learn about the history of the Mississippi River and surrounding area. Also learn about the dam.

Really cool and informative tour of the lock. You are able to go all the way out to the middle and look out over the Mississippi. The museum itself is also very neat and interactive, great for families with children.

Very informative museum. No charge. Lots of exhibits that explain the lock and dam system on the Mississippi River and how river traffic transports materials and goods. Several interesting interactive exhibits. Staff very helpful. They have 3 tours per day of the lock and dam; however because it was a 5-degree day we elected to skip. Bald eagles can be observed feeding from the waters below the dams. A bald eagle nest can be seen just east of the museum; staff had a scope trained on the nest during our visit. We plan to visit again on another day when not so cold and tour the lock and dam.

What a neat place. Great Museum. Missed the Free tour ,hopefully next time we get to go. Also got our National Park Card, mine was free and will be a lifetime Card. Daughter had to pay $80 for the year.

I was delighted to visit this historic place. John was our tour guide and he was so enthusiastic about the history of this dam. There is a lot to see inside the museum as well as the free tour of the dam. My most favorite part was up top of the dam overlooking the river right as a barge came in. This place would be fascinating for both young and old so do yourself a favor and go visit!!

Nice little informative museum. Native American did a lot before settler came. Dam and lock are the great engineering from human being.

Nice, quick side trip. A few fun things for kids to entertain themselves with like a barge simulator.

The staff and facility at the National Great River Museum in Alton, IL are top notch. The displays and information offered at the museum are very educational, interesting, and interactive. The aquarium is also very nice and well done. The theatre at the museum is very nice. There isn’t a bad seat in the whole theatre. I thoroughly enjoyed my time at the museum and I plan to visit again and again.

So glad we stopped and checked this place out!! Very interesting museum with interactives for all ages. Be sure to join one of the free tour times to actually go up to the lock and see a barge come thru. Beware that you will be in direct sunlight with no shade for that entire time. Bring a hat and apply sunscreen before the tour starts. And be prepared for mayflies as well. Still totally worth the tour, just would have liked to have been more prepared 😅 Ask the visitor desk about the Junior park ranger program! Plenty of easy parking right in front of the museum. All of the staff and volunteers were friendly and informative.

This was a wonderful experience. My mom and I stopped here on our way to Grafton. It was very interesting, informative, and very educational. Due to Covid we were not able to go into the actual lock but our tour guides were very good and informative. Lots of interesting things to see.

Free museum and informative tour. Watched a barge lock through. Lots of parking available.

Amazing stop! Wish we would have had time for tour. Tours are 45 mins- 1 hour and require you to walk about 1/2 mile. No photos or phones allowed. Cute gift shop. The museam with out the tour took my group 1.5 hours to read and look at everything. They also have a little film you can watch in a theater that is approx 30 mins. Which we did not do. Amazing displays fantastic information. It looked as if they were expanding and setting up new exibits as well.

You will get a education. Very interesting place to visit

Great information about the impact of rivers on the local economy, as well as descriptions and examples of local plants and animals. We did not arrive at a time where a tour was convenient, but hoping to do so next time. 3 different times were offered and I am certain it would have been worth our time.

Very interesting place to visit. Working in the Wood River area and found this museum. Alot of information on the history for the Mighty Mississippi River! Also they have a tour of the Lock itself and alot of hands on things to do for the little one's to make it fun for all ages. If in the Wood River or Alton IL area and have extra time, I recommend you take a visit to this museum.

Went to see if we could spot some eagles and saw a nesting pair actually building a nest in a tree across from the museum, as well as one eagle who flew right over our heads on top of the Dam. We enjoyed the museum and ended up going on the tour of the lock and Dam. It was about an hour long and really interesting. Would definitely recommend going on the tour to get up on top of the Dam because the views are amazing! The museum and tour were both free!

First time in Alton area for birdwatching and wasn’t disappointed. Damon and Seth were super helpful and nice. They have a great museum that’s interactive.

The National Great Rivers Museum has introduced the public to the story of the Mississippi River. The Rivers Project, operated by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ St. Louis District. The tour of Melvin Price Locks & Dam is excellent. Melvin Price Locks and Dam serves the Mississippi River as part of the nine-foot navigational channel maintained by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. It was put into full-operation by 1994.

Very interesting!

Take the awesome tour

Awesome museum at the Lock and Dam 26

A real treat for all ages . Very well done . A very nice museum and gift shop and tour . A must do.

great

Very nice diorama for birds, natural wildlife and grasses. Next visit, we will arrange to have a ticket to tour the lock and dam

Like it

A great learning experience for all ages! The facility has a very nice layout of exhibits that one would need about an hour to view all stations and read the information on the walls. They also offer a guided tour of the locking dam system that will take you outside on top of the dam. It was really neat to see the system from that vantage point. The guided tour takes about 45 minutes.

Our tour guide K was very knowledgeable and kind. She wore a mask the whole time which we appreciated but didn't enforce mask wearing in the building for the most chatty guy of the group. He kept talking and talking but wearing his mask on his chin with his mouth and nose exposed. Definitely tried to stay very far away from him and he made the experience uncomfortable for us. Why bother wearing a mask on your chin at all if you aren't going to wear it right? The museum was a fun, short pit stop (other than the disrespectful guy above the rules). It was a bummer that the elevator to go to the top was broken so make sure you call ahead and check on the status if you are hoping for some good outside views. It's free though so totally worth it to stop. Spent less than an hour here. Ask tour guide K about fish! Just do it!

Very pleased to see, "masks optional" at a federal installation. Visited to purchase an "America The Beautiful" pass for Corp of Engineers facilities. Friendly and knowledgeable staff, and interesting displays.

Absolute must if you are in or visiting the Alton, IL area. So much information on the history and ecological part of this area, not to mention the dam and locks. Make sure you take the tour! Our guide was very knowledgeable and did a great job of explaining everything and answering questions. What was totally amazing is that it was all FREE!!

Took children there to go see the museum the staff was great and willing to answer questions. Also they had a scavenger hunt with free prizes. Needles to say the kids had a good time

Great place to spend an hour or two, especially with the tour. Tour guides are volunteers and very informative. Tours are worth the effort but not a necessity. A great feat of human engineering to adjust river flow!

Took a day trip and stopped here. The museum was very interesting but we didn't know there were tours. Next time we will be better prepared. The staff are kind and knowledgeable, the building, grounds, and exhibits well kept. Free Highly recommend as long as you check what time the tours start and they have movies.

The very good exhibits provided a good understanding of the workings of the rivers in this area. The barge captain simulator was my favorite. We visited on a day where a festival was going on so the lock tours were semi self guided. The staff was very kind.

It was a beautiful day out nice and cool in the morning. We decided to go for a walk along the Levee of the Mississippi River. As we approached the National Great Rivers Museum we decided to go in, since neither of us had been there before. We signed up right away for the Lock and Dam Tour. While we waited, we looked around the museum and gained a lot of insight into the workings of the Lock and Dam as well as the history of the Commerce that flowed down the Mississippi River. The museum also explained a lot about the natural habitat, flora, and fauna in the area. The museum was well-maintained and the tour was very interesting. We spotted an eagle, swans, and pelicans all fishing while we were touring the Lock and Dam.

Cool museum and lock and dam! Free to visit. Worth a stop!

Poorly marked, limited parking, closes early we were there at 4:30 but the gates were already closed. Nice roof top nature walk with a great view of the river and dam. I think you enter through the gates but they were closed and said employees only.

We were worried that it wouldn't be open due to Covid. While we couldn't ride the elevator to the top, we got to see and explore everything else. Our guide was very knowledgeable and friendly.

Great place to go see the river. Nice museum a lot of interesting things to see. You have to take a tour of the lock and dam. Travis knew his stuff.

Lots of educational fun!

It's worth the time to take the free tour.

Informative, and great for kids.

Love it

Learned a lot and really enjoyed seeing how the locks work.

Very informative

Very interesting. Somewhere different to visit in the area

It was amazing to see just how high the water was at the dam. And now it's way higher than these pics

Very neat experience museum. Everything is free. Worth the trip!

Honestly did not even know this Amazing place was here! Great educational place to take your Kids or even yourself! Lock and Dam tours are at 10am 1pm and 3pm! Staff are great and knowledgeable. Sometimes I wonder why little gems like these are not promoted more!

We just love this place. Only problem is not being able to go out on the landing.

Very informative -- great educational environment, especially for school children.

According to Google it says that this attraction is open. I told all my kids and we drove 2 hours to get there and it was closed due to covid. They will not answer their phones and Google and their website all say they are open and they are not. So yeah. My kids are thrilled that we have a 2 hour drive home and they got to do NOTHING today.

Very interesting and unique experience watching a tow and 16 barges go through the lock. Well done small museum. Worth the trip!

If want a really cool tour, visit this place. Completely free and you get to walk across the top of the dam that stretches across the mighty Mississippi. Great tour guides and knowledgeable staff, and really free. See the river from a view that few people get. Take the family and have a fun day doing something that as fun as it is informative.

Was closed when I got there. Turns out it's only open like three days a week. Thought I might still be able to see something, but couldn't really.

Fun and informative! Clean and safe! Staff nice!

Museum website indicated museum was open. IT WAS NOT! Folks could have traveled several or even many miles. We were disappointed.

Very educational on Mississippi River History

Neat place to visit

Always interesting. Did the dam tour this year. We were able to watch the process of moving a barge through the locks

We needed more time than we had for our tour .

An underrated gem of the Riverbend. Sometimes I go there to stare at the captive gar they have in an aquarium.

Great Dam tour. Would highly recommend

So much fun! Definitely take a tour out on the damm

(Translated by Google) You will discover the navigation of the Mississippi River. I recommend. (Original) Vc descobrirá a navegação do Rio Mississipi. Recomendo.

They are open Wed- Sun. Tours for free of the Dam at 10am, 1pm and 3pm. Very friendly l. Definitely will be back.

Good for a walk, no traffic

Nice venue

Bike trail nearby that runs along river. Views outside of the museum are probably a little better than the museum itself.

Love it here

Very educational and a great experience.