Next year, Meridian expects to welcome the Mississippi Children’s Museum-Meridian to 22nd Avenue.

Included in the many exhibits coming to town, will be a life-size cow.

But before she moves to the barnyard, she needs a name. 

The museum is asking the public for help naming the cow to be featured in the health and nutrition gallery currently under construction. 

She is the sister of “Daisy,” the cow who lives at the museum in Jackson, according to a news release. 

Voters can use MCM-Meridian or MCM Facebook and Instagram pages between April 20 and April 26. 

According to museum leaders, these are the stories behind the two names on the ballot, “Queen” and “Gypsy:”   

QUEEN – Meridian’s nickname, “Queen City” is derived from the city’s importance to the railroad industry in the 1880s. There was a need for speed and Meridian’s geographic location provided it. The “Queen and Crescent Route” that stretched from Cincinnati to New Orleans intersected in Meridian where trains switched engines. Travel time from Meridian to New Orleans was eight hours faster than its rival railroad routes. Meridian set the record for the fastest travel time between the two cities, earning the title, “Queen City.”

GYPSY – Meridian is the burial site of the Gypsy Queen, Kelly Mitchell. In 1915, the nationally recognized Queen of the Gypsy (Romani) people died at the age of 47 while giving birth. Her husband and King of the Gypsies, Emil Mitchell, held her funeral in Meridian. More than 20,000 Gypsies traveled from all over the United States to celebrate the life of their queen with a huge parade. Adorned with beads and trinkets, her grave at the Rose Hill Cemetery is still visited today.

Upon completion of the museum in early 2021, the name chosen will be included in the barnyard exhibit signage.

The museum will announce the winning name on MCM-Meridian and MCM social media pages the week of April 27.