This unique museum should not be missed if you are in Kansas City, MO. The steamboat, Arabia, sank in the Missouri River in 1856, and a little under a century and a half later was located and excavated--at their own expense--by two KC families. A huge store of items were recovered, restored, and in placed in an exciting collection for... more

Thank you brothers & friends for preserving this great relic from our past all in one place! You could have profitted from selling all this stuff to different collectors but instead it is costing you money to keep it all together. I hope that you do well in this endeavor for many generations to enjoy. I know of no other... more

A family -owned museum that's well worth the stop. Your guide will most likely be someone who participated in the excavation. It's amazing to see so many well-preserved items, from pickles to perfume. more

Interesting museum. We had a great tour guide named Annie and one of the owners came out and gave a brief talk - made all the difference in our overall experience. Large pre-civil war collection of a sunken merchant boat (basically a floating Walmart). Note that the museum gift shop is lousy. Allow 1 1/2 hours to tour. more

Wonderful site right by the farmers market and tons of shops. Parking not too bad either. Staff wonderful at the museum. Very knowledgable. Bob Hawley, one of the originators of the Arabia dig and preservation was there to talk to our group. Great! So much to see and for the folks in our group who had been there before they... more

This is a wonderful museum sprung from a truly remarkable endeavor by two Kansas City families who were so fascinated by tales of the sinking of the steamboat Arabia they decided to dig her up! The sinking of the Arabia was not so uncommon, as many other steamboats met similar fates as they navigated the log and tree-debris-infested rivers during... more

This museum captures two events: The sinking of the boat in 1856 and the raising about 20 years ago. I found the raising even more gripping. Both the recovery and the museum itself was accomplished by the members of five blue-collar families (three brothers and two friends) working together. The museum layout, organization, and preservation techniques could not be more... more

I visited Kansas City to see the WW1 museum and the Truman libarary and home but discovered this museum while driving around town. I'm glad I did because there is a lot of interesting history contained in this place. Reading about how the Arabia was wrecked and sank gives one a reality of just how dangerous the Missouri River was... more

We visited the museum as a side trip, on our trek to Kansas Speedway in September of 2007. What a treat! We urge anyone who has any interest in history or steamboats to visit. What a wonderful place for people of all ages. Many Thanks to the families who have spent endless hours (and apparently still do), uncovering this treasure.... more