River Discovery Center – Paducah
Located near the confluence of the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers, the river town of Paducah, Kentucky has a strong historic association with the inland waterways of America. Here is a link to a short article I wrote for Long Weekends magazine.
http://www.long-weekends.com/Main/Articles/Set_Sail_1972.aspx
The entry to the River Heritage Museum and its River Discovery Center is unassuming, a historic residential building. Once inside you can see how it expands into a huge space filled with models of riverboats, a water table that shows the flow of the local rivers, displays explaining Civil War history and more. One of the favorite interactive displays allows the visitor to try their hand at piloting on the river via a genuine teaching simulator.