A children's museum scheduled to open next year in Mankato is making a last-minute attempt to get money from the state Clean Water, Land and Legacy Fund.

The Children’s Museum of Southern Minnesota has already missed the House vote on the program, which funds outdoors and arts projects. The Senate will vote soon, but officials worry it might be too late, reports the Mankato Free Press.

The House bill gives $500,000 each to the children's museums in St. Paul and Duluth.

Peter Olson, executive director of the nascent Mankato museum, told the Free Press that he expects to secure a brick-and-mortar location for the Children’s Museum by the end of next year, and that his ultimate goal is to make lawmakers aware of southern Minnesota’s budding museum.