Our Daily Show Interview! Night at the Museum Set for October 4th!
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ALTON - The National Great Rivers Museum invites the community to come out for a night of spooky fun.
From 6–9 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 3, 2025, community members can enjoy “Night at the Museum,” complete with education stations, animal visits, trick-or-treat opportunities, a costume contest, bonfires and haunted tours of the Melvin Price Locks and Dam.
“This is going to be a fun after-hours event for Halloween at the museum,” said Elise with the National Great Rivers Museum (NGRM).
NGRM will screen “The Nightmare Before Christmas” in their theater. Kids can enter a costume contest, judged by the NGRM mascot Bobber the Water Safety Dog.
The Nature Institute will be onsite with a bat-related activity. You can visit with snakes from the St. Louis Herpetological Society. Audubon Center at Riverlands will offer an activity, and the National Great Rivers and Research Education Center will have a station about nocturnal animals. The Alton Museum of History and Art will also share information about World War II, combining history and science.
There will also be several trick-or-treat stations, as well as s’mores available outside at the bonfires. Elise encourages people to come out and enjoy “the sugar rush” while learning more about nature and animals.
From 6–7:30 p.m., community members can enjoy sunset tours of the Melvin Price Locks and Dam. These family-friendly tours are open for the evening. The tours turn haunted from 7:30–9 p.m.
“At 7:30, the haunting begins,” Elise said. “From 7:30–9, we’re going to have the spooky version, so we’re going to have jumpscares, special effects, stuff like that. It’s going to be pretty scary.”
All of these activities are completely free to enjoy. Elise urges people to come out and have fun while learning more about what the museum offers.
Gray Witch Tarot will offer tarot card readings for $20. Dammit Joe’s Barbeque will be onsite with food available for purchase.
Additionally, there’s a special opportunity for those who preregister. For the first time, NGRM will be offering free Tunnel Tours, taking people under the river into the tunnels of the locks and dam. Elise noted that these tours take you “behind the scenes,” complete with jumpscares.
To join these tours, community members must register online. Because it is a government facility, you must prove that you are a U.S. citizen. The tours are not ADA-accessible, and while kids are allowed, they must be able to walk the entire time. Elise noted that the tours include low lighting and tight spaces, and attendees must wear long pants and closed-toed shoes.
For more information about the Tunnel Tours or the Night at the Museum event, visit the official National Great Rivers Museum Facebook page or their official website at MTRF.org.
