VICKSBURG, Miss. (AP) — The Lower Mississippi River Museum uses hands-on displays to help people understand the lore and power of the waterway that has shaped North American life for centuries.

The Mississippi and its tributaries drain 41 percent of the U.S. and parts of Canada, comprising the world’s third-largest watershed. The portion called the Lower Mississippi runs about 1,000 miles, from Cairo, Ill., southward past New Orleans.