11 fun things to do in 2011: Close to home or a short drive away, Southeast Missouri and its neighboring states offer plenty of opportunities for adventure

EDITOR'S NOTE: Messy Morning has been canceled. We're included information about Silly Saturday in its place.

1. Kentucky Dam Village is one of three state resort parks near Land Between the Lakes National Recreation Area, a 170,000-acre wooded peninsula bound by Kentucky Lake and Lake Barkley. Special events held there include a spring craft festival and a car show in August.

2. Taum Sauk Mountain State Park, southwest of Ironton, Mo., in Iron and Reynolds counties, provides 7,448 acres of solitude amid unspoiled land with a wilderness quality hard to find in today's world. Located in the St. Francois Mountains, Taum Sauk Mountain is the highest point in Missouri. Mina Sauk Falls is the tallest wet weather waterfall in Missouri.

3. Silly Saturday is an event that encourages creativity and lets children get messy while learning. The event takes place behind the Discovery Playhouse from 8 a.m. to noon April 16.

4. The Bootheel Youth Museum in Malden, Mo., features family-focused events and activities for children of all ages, including an antigravity mirror, crawl-in camera and other exhibits.

Messy Morning will be April 16 at the Show Me Center.

5. Giant City Park is nestled in the Shawnee National Forest, just minutes south of Carbondale, Ill. The area was named for the impressions made by its massive sandstone structures. Eons of geological faulting and folding have molded a landscape like none other, which is now clothed in lush garments of fern, moss, large flowering mints, hundreds of species of wildflowers and 75-plus varieties of towering trees. The park is at 235 Giant City Road, Makanda, Ill.

6. Elephant Rocks State Park in Graniteville, Mo., features giant granite rocks standing end-to-end like a train of circus elephants. About 1.5 billion years ago, hot magma cooled and formed coarsely crystalline red granite, which later weathered into huge, rounded boulders. Standing atop a granite outcrop, one of the largest elephant rocks, Dumbo, tops the scales at 680 tons.

7. Explore the Shawnee National Forest on horseback or grab a backpack and hike the 160-mile river to river trail at the Garden of the Gods recreation area in Southern Illinois. Rock climbing and rappelling are permitted in several designated areas. Twelve campsites are outfitted with fire pits, picnic tables, toilets and drinking water.

8. Crown Ridge Tiger Sanctuary, 19620 State Route B near Ste. Genevieve, Mo., is a 55-acre estate with a restaurant, lodging and, of course, tigers. The sanctuary's mission is to provide a permanent home for exotic cats that have endured neglect, abuse or other undesirable conditions. Feeding tours are now available.

9. Since the inaugural mission, Rendezvous with a Comet in 2002, the Challenger Learning Center in Paducah Ky., has flown more than 1,200 missions and added summer camps, scouting workshops, e-Missions and professional development for area teachers.

10. Clearwater Dam in Piedmont, Mo., was built in 1942 for flood control. Today, it's one of the largest tourist attractions in Southeast Missouri, drawing more than a million people a year for camping, boating, fishing and swimming.

11. A replica 1870s Old West town, Black Forest Village in Cape Girardeau offers two special craft shows, held annually, and ghost town tours in October.