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Since recreation has become an important part of everyday life, Missouri is fortunate to have a variety of places for many kinds of activities. These include the unspoiled scenery of the Ozarks and many big springs, caverns, lakes, and hunting and fishing areas.

The two national forests-Clark National Forest and Mark Twain National Forest-are in the Ozarks, as are the streams designated as national scenic riverways. The other national areas preserve historic sites. The George Washington Carver National Monument near Diamond includes the site where the famous agricultural scientist was born, a statue of him as a boy, and a museum.

The memorial includes a huge stainless steel arch designed by the architect Eero Saarinen. The visitors' center is beneath the arch. Trains in the legs of the arch take visitors to the observation deck at the top.

Wilson's Creek National Battlefield near Springfield preserves the place where General Nathaniel Lyon of the Union Army was killed on August,10, 1861, during one of the many Civil War battles in Missouri.

Missouri has more than 50 state parks and state historic shrines. The parks are widely scattered over the state. The following list shows the variety.

Arrow Rock State Park is located between Boonville and Marshall at the old town of Arrow Rock on the Missouri River. At the entrance to the park is the famous old Arrow Rock Tavern, an important stopping place on the Santa Fe Trail. Other things to see in the park are the old jail, the old Santa Fe Spring, and the home of the artist George Caleb Bingham.

Big Spring State Park, near Van Buren, is bordered by the swift Current River. The most important feature of the park is Big Spring. Other state parks with large springs are Bennett Spring State Park near Lebanon, Montauk State Park in Dent County, and Round Spring State Park near Eminence.

Civil War Battle of Lexington State Park in Lexington preserves the site of the battle of Lexington, in September, 1861. The trenches can still be seen. The Anderson House, which was used as a field hospital, is preserved as a state historic shrine. Johnson Shut-Ins State Park is in the north eastern corner of Reynolds County. It includes the picturesque shut-ins of the east fork of the Black River. Shut-ins are narrow gorges formed by erosion in an otherwise wide valley.

Lake of the Ozarks State Park is the largest of the state parks, spreading around an arm of the lake. The many recreational facilities include boating, fishing, horseback riding, nature trails, and campgrounds. Other parks with large lakes are Big Lake State Park in Holt County, Lake Wappapello State Park, Table Rock State Park, and Thousand Hills State Park near Kirksville.

Meramec State Park near Sullivan is one of the largest and most scenic parks. It has more than 20 caves, including the huge Fisher's Cave, nature trails, and a nature museum.

Missouri is governed by a constitution that was adopted in 1945. Earlier constitutions were adopted in 1820, 1865, and 1875. Other elected officials include the lieutenant governor, secre tary of state, and attorney general. A constitutional amendment of 1970 authorized the General Assembly to meet in regular sessions each year instead of every other year. The judicial branch is headed by the state Supreme Court. Below it are three courts of appeals-at St. Louis, Kansas City, and Springfield. There are also Circuit courts, courts of common pleas, probate courts, and various other courts.

More people than ever in Missouri live in or near the state's major cities. Also the to metropolitan areas of Missouri's two largest cities extend into neighboring states.

Jefferson City - The state capital is located on the Missouri River near the center of the state. The site was chosen in 1821, and the city was laid out the next year. The legislature met there for the first time in 1826. In the meantime, St. Charles had served as the capital. The state capitol stands in a landscaped park overlooking the steep bluffs of the river. The main floor of the building contains museums. Among works of art in the capitol are Thomas Hart Benton's famous murals dealing with the history of Missouri. The main business of Jefferson City is state government, but it is also a trade and industrial center.

St.Louis - St. Louis is the largest city in Missouri. The metropolitan area includes many other cities and towns on both the Missouri side and the Illinois side of the Mississippi River.

Kansas City - Kansas City, the second largest city in the state. is located on the Missouri River at the mouth of the Kansas River. It adjoins Kansas City, Kansas. The two cities form an important commercial, industrial, and transportation center of the central plains. Like St.Louis, Kansas City began as a fur-trading center, and it owes much of its early development to river traffic. Several trading posts in the area were starting points for expeditions the West. Kansas City grew out of two of these trading posts, which were settled in the 1820's and 1830's. The city of the present day was incorporated in 1853. Kansas City is an important marketing and transportation hub, with new industrial parks and shopping and recreational areas. Educational institutions located there include the University of Missouri at Kansas City, the Kansas City Art Institute, and Rockhurst College. Swope Park is one of the largest city parks in the United States.

Springfield - Missouri's third largest city, Springfield, is located in the Ozarks resort area of southwestern Missouri. It is surrounded by a highly productive agricultural area. Industries in the city include railroad shops, stockyards, and many kinds of factories and plants. Springfield is the home of Drury College and Southwest Missouri State University.

Missouri claims several important firsts in education. St. Louis University, which grew out of an academy founded in 1818, is the oldest university west of the Mississippi. The University of Missouri, chartered in 1839, was the first state university to be founded west of ther Mississippi. The School of Journalism at the University of Missouri was the first school of journalism in the world to grant a degree in journalism. It was founded in 1908, with Walter Williams as dean. The first school of osteopathy in the United States was founded at Kirksville in 1892 by Dr. Andrew Taylor Still. Osteopathy is a method of healing.

The first school in what is now Missouri was a private school for boys, opened in St. Louis in 1774. The teaching was in French. The first schools with teaching in English began about 1804. An academy was chartered at Sainte Genevieve in 1807. As the population grew, many academies and church supported schools were opened. The public school system was founded in 1839. In that year the legislature voted a fund to help support public schools. It also created the office of state superintendent of schools and provided for establishment of the state university. Public school districts were organized in each county in 1874. After the Civil War the laws of the state required segregation in public education. A decision of the U.S. Supreme Court in 1954 declared this requirement to be unconstitutional.

Today it includes campuses in Kansas City, Rolla, and St. Louis. Other state-supported universities and senior colleges are in Cape Girardeau, Jefferson City, Joplin, Kirksville, Maryville, St. Joseph, Springfield, and Warrensburg. Most sections of the state have public 2-year colleges.

The largest of the private colleges and universities are Washington University and St. Louis University, both in St. Louis. Washington University grew out of Eliot Seminary, founded in 1853 by William Greenleaf Eliot, grandfather of the poet T.S. Eliot. Stephens College in Columbia is well known.

Westminster College in Fulton is the place where in 1946 the British leader Winston Churchill delivered a now-famous speech. In the speech, he coined the term "Iron Curtain" to describe an imaginary barrier that had descended across Europe, dividing Communist from non-Communist countries. Today the Winston Churchill Memorial and Library, on the Westminster campus, attracts many visitors. It is a reconstruction of a historic London church -- the Church of St. Mary the Virgin, Aldermanbury. The curcuma, badly damaged by bombs during World War II, had been rebuilt by the architect Sir Christopher Wren after the Great London Fire of 1666. A library and museum are in the area beneath the sanctuary of the church.

The state constitution of 1945 provided for support of public libraries through state and local taxation. Since that time the number of libraries has grown until more than 100 cities and towns have public libraries. Bookmobiles carry library service to many parts of the state. The largest public library is the St. Louis Public Library. It was stated in 1860 in connection with the public schools. In the 1890's it was made free to the public.

The major universities and various private organizations have large libraries with important special collections. The Pope Pius XII Memorial Library at St. Louis University contains microfilm records in many fields of learning from the Vatican Library in Rome. Linda Hall Library in Kansas City contains one of the best collections in science and technology in the Middle West. Missouri's presidential library and museum, dedicated in 1957, and other major museums are included in the following list.

The Harry S. Truman Library and Museum in Independence is a major tourist attraction. It preserves papers, books, and many historical items pertaining to President Truman's administration and his life. The Truman grave site is in a courtyard.

The City Art Museum of St. Louis is know for its collections of fine art, ranging from ancient to modern times.

The Kansas City Museum of History and Science specializes in history, natural history, and anthropology. Displays of interest to children include Eskimoland and Pioneerland.

The Missouri Historical Society in the Jefferson Memorial Building, St.Louis, includes both a library and a museum. The library contains many books and other records pertaining to Spanish colonial times, the history of the Mississippi Valley, and the history of advertising in the Middle West. The Charles A. Lindbergh collection in the museum includes thousands of items commemorating Lindbergh's flight to Paris in the Spirit of St.Louis. Other interesting exhibits pertain to the Lewis and Clark expedition, early St.Louis, and the steamboat era.

The Missouri State Museum, in the state capital in Jefferson City, had exhibits pertaining to the history and natural resources of the state.

The St. Joseph Museum in St. Joseph emphasizes natural history, wildlife of the area, and American Indian material. The Pony Express Stables Museum is housed in the stables used when St. Joseph became the eastern starting point of the Pony Express in 1860.

The State Historical Society of Missouri in Columbia has important collections of books and records pertaining to the history of Missouri, the art gallery includes works by two of the state's noted artist, George Caleb Bingham and Thomas Hart Benton.

The William Rockhill Nelson Gallery and Atkins Museum of Fine Arts in Kansas City is a single institution usually known as the Nelson. It contains notable exhibits of European and American art, as well as one of the country's finest Oriental collections.

St. Louis, Kansas City, and Springfield all have sympont orchestras. Both St. Louis and Kansas City have open-air summer theaters. Summer playhouses have been established at Branson, the Lake of the Ozarks, and elsewhere.