ALTON, Ill. — Brandon Beckemeyer, park ranger with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers St. Louis District, talks with STEM students about barge traffic at the U.S. Army Corps of Engineer's Melvin Price Locks and Dam here, during the Saturday Scholars program Feb. 25, 2012. Every year, more than 8,000 vessels and over 60 million tons of cargo pass through Melvin Price Locks and Dam.