That's the inside scoop I can give on the upcoming "Lizard of Oz" event at the Cape Girardeau Conservation Nature Center , Oct. 23-24. This take off the popular Wizard of Oz film, starring Judy Garland, is the theme of this year's annual Creatures of the Night event. It's a fun way to teach children the importance of taking care of habitat for Missouri's fish, forests and wildlife. It will show both Friday and Saturday evenings from 6:30 to 9:30.

In the "Lizard of Oz", Dorothy and her animal friends seek the great Lizard of Oz to tell them where to find better habitat with clean air and bountiful food.

If you're familiar with the Insect Mania and Creatures of the Night programs at the nature center you know the creativity that's in store for your family each and every time. If you're not, please don't miss this chance to spend quality time together learning about our natural world.

The creativity of our staff and volunteers at the nature center always shines at these programs. They spend weeks sewing and constructing costumes, writing the scripts, and developing musical lyrics to make an original, fun -- and free - event for Southeast Missouri families.

At the Insect Mania event in July, hundreds of children lined up to get autographs from celebrity insects like the Lady Bug, Cockroach, Luna Moth, and the Praying Mantis. The costumes were so realistic it was as if the staff had enlarged the actual insects to human size. It will be exciting to see what surprises are in store for this year's Creatures of the Night.

After a year as their media specialist, I've recognized that the creativity we see at these events is a result of a genuine passion the nature center staff and volunteers have for helping families discover nature together. Much of this passion was awakened by Richard Louv's book, Last Child in the Woods.

I've shared inspiration from Louv's book before and when I sat down to contemplate the most important reason to encourage Southeast Missouri parents to bring their children to the "Lizard of Oz" event next weekend is that it's a step toward bringing nature back into the lives of our children.

"The child in nature is an endangered species, and the health of children and the health of the Earth are inseparable." -- Richard Louv, Last Child in the Woods

There are lots of other reasons to check out the event. It's free, and it's fun. But more importantly, I think, is that we gear our children towards discovering what's outside again. Louv's book includes information on studies conducted in association with the Kaiser Family Foundation in 2005 that found that children between the ages of eight and eighteen years old spent an average of nearly 6.5 hours a day plugged in electronically -- Louv said that's more time than an average adult's work week.

Why is this alarming? Because time spent in nature helps to develop children's senses, including learning and creative abilities according to Louv. Studies link our society's disconnection from nature to Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), and Louv reports on studies that find children who have too little contact with nature have a greater risk of developing obesity, depression, anti-social behavior, lack of empathy, and lower language and imaginative skills.

So as you're making family plans for the weekend, please keep in mind the "Lizard of Oz" event -- not just because it's a fun and free recreational opportunity, but because it will give you an opportunity to open up a whole new world for your children, Missouri's great outdoors.