For parents, this is a priceless commodity.

“They’re staying busy and not in each other’s hair,” North Mankatoan Kristin Nelson says of her three children playing outside the Taylor Library on a recent sunny morning.

The Children’s Museum of Southern Minnesota is aiming for a 2010 opening, but is bringing its exhibits to the public long before then.

A pair of exhibits are on tour this month in an effort to get kids and families excited about the museum, volunteer Shannon Swanson said.

Grace Nelson, 6, is spending her time at “Pipe Dreams,” where kids are given a big of PVC pipes, some fittings and fabric and let their creative impulse take over.

Grace seems to divide her attention between an effort to build a large cube and modeling the frilly fabric.

The other exhibit, “It’s wild in here,” includes a teepee, a bunch of toy animals and an opportunity to make animal-themed headbands, among other activities.

Mankato mother of six Angie Cherney is another admirer.

“I think more than anything, it’s the hands-on, the dress-up stuff that’s great,” she said.

The museum hasn’t found a location, Swanson said, and that will depend on how much money they raise before then. A downtown Mankato location would be ideal, she said.