Each year the 2320 mile long Mississippi River provides transport for
more than 472-million tons of cargo including 46% of the grain exported
from the United States. The Upper Mississippi of 1250 miles stretches
from the river’s headwaters in Lake Itaska, Minnesota to its confluence
with the Ohio River in Cairo, IL. Along the path of the Upper
Mississippi, the United States Army Corps of Engineers operates
twenty-seven locks and dams to facilitate river navigation and maintain
the environmental balance of the river’s watershed. The Upper
Mississippi also includes five National Wildlife Refuges that encompass
over 300,000 acres of wooded islands, water, and wetlands along the
river corridor. In its totality, the Upper Mississippi River Basin
watershed drains approximately 189,000 square miles in portions of six
Midwest states. In these programs from the Melvin Price Lock and Dam
located on the Mississippi River in Alton, Illinois, we’ll explore the
importance of this great river both as an essential navigation route and
as an essential environmental resource. Participants will see the lock
and dam in operation and interact with members of the U.S. Coast Guard,
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and other experts from the Great Rivers
Museum.
Our two programs this day will target different topics
and different age groups. Our morning program at 10 a.m. CDT will focus
on the Mississippi River’s importance as a vital navigation thoroughfare
and be targeted to students in grades 4 through 8. We’ll explore how
and why the Mississippi is used so much. We’ll look at different
structures built to make the river more navigable such as wing dams,
dykes, locks and dams. We’ll investigate how the river channel and buoy
systems are designed and maintained for navigation. Students will see
video of the Melvin Price Lock and Dam in operation as well as video of
river transportation in action and be able to ask their questions of
guests from the river transportation industry, the United States Army
Corps of Engineers, the United States Coast Guard, and experts from the
Great Rivers Museum.
Our afternoon program at 1 p.m. CDT will
focus on management of the Mississippi River Watershed and will be
targeted to students in grades 7-12. Experts from the United States
Army Corps of Engineers, the United States Coast Guard, and the Great
Rivers Museum will answer student questions as we explore how watersheds
work, pollution management and control, flooding cycles, watershed
water level management in times of both floods and drought, different
needs met by different water levels, and how those needs are balanced
with biological and environmental needs of fish and wildlife.
PLEASE NOTE:
The morning program is targeted to students in grades 4-8 and will
focus on river navigation. The afternoon program is targeted to
students in grades 7-12 and will focus on watershed management.
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Program Date |
Program Time |
Network Time |
Registration Deadline |
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All times below are displayed in Central Daylight Time, as specified by the Content Provider.
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10/27/2012 |
10:00 AM - 11:00 AM |
9:45 AM - 11:15 AM |
10/21/2011 |
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10/27/2012 |
1:00 PM - 2:00 PM |
12:45 PM - 2:15 PM |
10/21/2011 |
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HEC-TV
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