FREE Gr 4-11 The Science Behind Rivers and Dams

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.

Program Date Program Time Network Time Registration Deadline   All times below are displayed in Central Daylight Time, as specified by the Content Provider. 10/27/2012 10:00 AM - 11:00 AM 9:45 AM - 11:15 AM 10/21/2011 10/27/2012 1:00 PM - 2:00 PM 12:45 PM - 2:15 PM 10/21/2011

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Helen Headrick utilization@hectv.org 3655 Olive St St Louis, MO  63108 United States Phone: (314) 531-4455