PHOTO GALLERY: People in mid-Missouri find ways to cool off as temperatures break records

Laci Fuhlage, 8, squirts water and blows air at the same time with her "Squeeze Breeze" toy on Thursday at Howard County Fair in Fayette.   |  Tatiana Fernandez

Hannah Eagen makes a sand castle on the beach at Stephens Lake Park on Thursday afternoon.   |  Yi Gan

People cool off in swimming area of Stephens Lake on Thursday afternoon. The temperature reached 107 degrees in Columbia, according to the National Weather Service. The swimming area in Stephens Lake Park is open from May 1 to Sept. 30.   |  Yi Gan

Kristin Mellick enjoys the cool water coming out of the sprinkler at Stephens Lake Park on Thursday afternoon.   |  Yi Gan

Antonia Young collects clamshells in a cup on the shore of the lake at Stephens Lake Park on Thursday afternoon.   |  Yi Gan

Nathan Fuchs, left, and Niky Spurling sunbathe on the beach at Stephens Lake Park on Thursday afternoon.

Ryan Mellick holds his 5-year-old daughter, Kristin Mellick, on the sprayground at Stephens Lake Park on Thursday afternoon.   |  Yi Gan

Eighteen-month-old Lorin Mellick licks the water on the sprayground at Stephens Lake Park on Thursday afternoon. According to her father, Ryan Mellick, Thursday was the second time that they have come to Stephens Lake Park this summer.   |  Yi Gan