Facts about Missouri

Missouri Facts

Learn facts about Missouri for kids.

Have you ever visited Missouri before? Maybe you live there? Whichever it may be, you can learn some cool facts about Missouri here! I absolutely love to learn cool facts about all of the different states in the United States. I would love to share some of those cool facts with you! So, each and every Thursday, I will be posting cool facts about each of the fifty states in the United States. The states will be done in alphabetical order! Last week we posted facts about Mississippi. This week we are posting cool facts about Missouri. You will learn facts about Missouri's state flag, bird, and many other state facts. The countdown is on only 25 more states to blog about! 

Did you know that Missouri was the twenty-fourth (24^th) state to join the union? Yes, that is correct! Missouri officially joined the union on August 10, 1821! Missouri is located in the Midwestern region of the United States. Missouri is bordered by eight (8) states: Iowa, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Kansas, and Nebraska. Missouri also borders the Mississippi river. Missouri is the twenty-first (21^st) largest state in the United States. Missouri is one of the bigger sized states. There are about 6,168,187 people that reside in Missouri.

 

Missouri famous person alert:

Did you know that Maya Angelou was born in St. Louis, Missouri? Maya Angelou was a poet, book author, and a civil rights activist. Maya Angelou is best known for her seven autobiographies. An autobiography is a written account of someone’s life that is written by themself! The first book in the series of autobiographies that she wrote is, I know Why the Caged Bird Sings.

 

Share a fact about a famous person that lives in your state?

 

Facts about Missouri:

1. A few things Missouri is known for are: The Pony Express, farm land, and the Lewis and Clark Expedition. A few of the nicknames for the state of Missouri are: the Show Me State, the Ozark State, and the Mother of The West. The Missouri state motto is Salus populi suprema lex esto. The motto is a Latin phrase which means, “The welfare of the people is the supreme law”. The Missouri state motto was adopted on January 22, 1822. The abbreviation for Missouri is MO.

2. The capital of Missouri is Jefferson City. Jefferson City officially became the capital of Missouri sometime in 1821. Jefferson City is a city in Missouri that was named after Thomas Jefferson who was the third (3^rd) president of the United States. Jefferson City has an estimated population of about 42,670 people.

3. The state bird of Missouri is the Eastern bluebird. The Eastern bluebird was chosen as the state bird for Missouri on March 30, 1927. The Eastern bluebird is a songbird. The Eastern bluebird is a deep blue color. It has a rusted brownish orange color on its throat area and the underneath area is a creamy whitish color. It is a beautiful bird.

4. The Missouri official state flower is the Crataegus punctata also known as the White Hawthorn blossoms. The Crataegus punctata is a perennial flowering tree/shrub that can be found growing throughout the state of Missouri. The Crataegus punctata starts to bloom in the months of May and very early June. The Crataegus punctata is a very beautiful tree/shrub flower. The Missouri Crataegus punctata became Missouri’s official state flower on March 16, 1923.

5. Missouri’s state flag was officially adopted on March 22, 1913. Missouri’s state flag has three horizontal stripes on it. Of the stripes one is red, one is white, and one is blue. The flag features Missouri’s coat of arms and there are 24 stars circling the coat of arms. The 24 stars means that Missouri was the 24^th state to join the union.

6. Some crops that are grown in Missouri are: corn, cotton, oats, rice, soy beans, and wheat.

7. Some cool places to visit while in Missouri are: the Ha Ha Tonka Castle Ruins located in Camdenton, MO., the Saint Louis Zoo, and the Wilson's Creek National Battlefield.

8. Some animals that live in Missouri are: bobcats, beavers, brown bats, coyotes, eastern copperheads, ground hogs, racoons, red fox, and white-tailed deer.

9. Missouri can get very hot and very cold depending on the time of year. The hottest temperature ever recorded in Missouri was 118 degrees Fahrenheit in Warsaw, Missouri on July 14, 1954. The coldest temperature ever recorded in Missouri was -40 degrees (40 degrees below zero) Fahrenheit in Warsaw, Missouri on February 13, 1905.

 

 

Share an interesting fact about Missouri with us?

 

 

Get your free printable Missouri worksheet here:

 Missouri worksheet

Visit my printables section for a wide selection of worksheets and coloring sheets!

 

 

Books about Missouri:

1. Good Night Missouri by Adam Gamble

2. Kids Love Missouri by George Zavatsky

3. My First Book About Missouri! by Carole Marsh

4. Little Missouri by Judy Young

Parents/caretakers be sure books are child friendly before reading them to your child/children.

 

You can Click here to purchase the 50 states workbook on Amazon.

You can also utilize the 50 States tab at the top of my page to find all the 50 states post in one convenient place. 

 

Tune in next week to learn some really cool facts about Montana! Thank you for reading my post!! “Just one small positive thought in the morning can change your whole day.”-Dalai Lama

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Mimi is the author of the JOEY SAVES THE DAY! book series and other titles. She loves learning, reading, drawing, and writing. She is a homeschool mother of two children and she has two adult children that have already left the nest.