The community’s young ones will be ringing in 2024 a little early as the Mississippi Children’s Museum–Meridian gears up to host its fourth annual Noon Year’s Eve celebration on Saturday, Dec. 30.

A family-friendly event full of lots of revelry, Noon Year’s Eve, sponsored by Community Bank, will take place from 10 a.m until 1 p.m. at MCM-Meridian, located at 403 22nd Avenue near downtown Meridian.

“It is a fun and exciting event for the children,” Claire Huff, the museum’s director of education and programs, said of what has become an annual New Year’s event for MCM-Meridian.

Huff said the museum usually has a large turnout of families who participate.

“It is a wonderful way for families to celebrate early in the day so the kids can participate and ring in the new year, but still go to bed at their regular time at night,” she said.

MCM-Meridian will operate under its regular hours on Saturday from 9 a.m. until 5 p.m.

The Noon Year’s Eve activities will kick off at 10 a.m. Guests can create firework art, a New Year’s masquerade mask and crown, confetti poppers and noisemakers to get ready for the Noon Year countdown. The children can dance to catchy tunes from the museum’s DJ, make New Year wishes, and take part in outdoor games, such as Giant Jenga and cornhole, Huff said. In addition, a scavenger hunt will send them searching for clues throughout the museum.

A photo booth station will be set up, and the Junior Auxiliary of Meridian will be on hand for a Project RIF, or Reading is Fundamental, book giveaway.

Huff said all of the event’s activities will lead up to the countdown at 12 p.m. when a big burst of confetti will ring in the new year.

“Our DJ will help us count down to noon, and we will have the confetti pop, and then we will have our serious dance party,” she said.

Admission to Noon Year’s Eve is $10 per person (children under age 1 are free) and free for museum members. Tickets can be purchased online at mcmmeridian.org or at the entrance.

Huff said MCM-Meridian’s Winter Wonderland experience is still going on at the museum through Jan. 7, and guests for Noon Year’s Eve can participate in those activities too, including sock skating in the Snowflake Village and a photo op with the larger-than-life snow globe. The museum’s regular exhibits also will be open.

MCM-Meridian will be closed on Sunday, Dec. 31, and Monday, Jan. 1. For more information about Noon Year’s Eve or other events at the museum, visit mcmmeridian.org.