University of Missouri Children's Hospital is hosting its seventh annual Safe Kids Day from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday, April 28, at the MU Hearnes Center Fieldhouse, 600 E. Stadium Blvd., Columbia.

The free carnival-style event will feature live stage acts throughout the day. Booths at the event will offer interactive displays with tips on injury prevention and child safety. Additional event activities will include exciting games at each vendor booth, inflatables, professional face painting, grand prizes, free bike helmets with fittings for the first 100 children, superhero capes for each child while supplies last and lots of other surprises. Free hot dogs, chips and cookies also will be provided for participants.

Additionally, Princesses Elsa, Ariel and Belle along with superheroes Wonder Woman and Captain America will be ready to greet each child.

"Unintentional injury is the leading cause of death for children ages 1 to 14 nationwide," said Sheila Robertson, Safe Kids injury prevention and safety outreach coordinator at University of Missouri Children's Hospital. "Safe Kids Day is a way to involve the community and educate children and their families about safety in a really fun way. Our goal is for each family to leave with a better knowledge of ways to keep their kids safe. Once you know better, you tend to do better."

Participants can recycle outdated infant and child car seats at Safe Kids Day. The drop-off point will be in the parking lot of the Hearnes Center, close to the main entrance.

"Many people don't know that most car seats actually expire after about six years," Robertson said. "We encourage anyone with a damaged or outdated car seat to bring it to our event for proper disposal."

Safe Kids Columbia is a member of Safe Kids Worldwide, a global network of organizations dedicated to preventing unintentional childhood injuries. For more information, visit www.facebook.com/SafeKidsCoMo.