[5][7] In February 2010, museum officials announced that the cruiser USS Olympia needed $10 to $20 million for hull repairs to prevent her from sinking and would consider transferring her to a new steward.

In 2014 the museum announced that it had cancelled plans to seek a new steward and instead would focus its efforts on raising the funds necessary to repair the Ship.

Over the next several years, the museum was awarded grants from private donors, as well as, federal and state agencies to help cover the preservation costs.

In 2017, the Independence Seaport Museum completed the first phase of renovations to the Ship and is working to raise the funds necessary to tow the vessel to a dry-dock facility so that its hull can be repaired.

In January 2016, the Independence Seaport Museum was given a grant of over $1 million by the William Penn Foundation to fund environmental and clean water programs, as well as, exhibitions, and renovations to the dock.

[10][11] In 2017, the Independence Seaport Museum received a grant of $2.6 million from William Penn Foundation to support the River Alive exhibition.

The exhibit also explores the everyday life of sailors aboard the ship, as well as, Olympia's final mission of transporting the remains of the Unknown Soldier from France to Arlington National Cemetery in Washington, DC.

[13] In April 2016 the Independence Seaport Museum opened a new exhibit which focuses on Philadelphia and the founding of the United States Navy.

Some notable artifacts in the exhibit include a rare 1793 letter from an American taken hostage by pirates, Captain John Barry's octant, and a model of the Federal St. Navy Yard recreating Joshua Humphreys' 18th century shipyard.

The exhibit begins with a late 18th-century Revolutionary War-era explosion of a British ship and ends with the 1975 oil tanker collision and resulting fire.

The Magical Transformation from Cane to Candy, Digging the City: Archaeological Discoveries from the Philadelphia Waterfront, and Art in the Open: The Exhibition.

Currently she is a museum ship where visitors can walk aboard, tour, and watch historical reenactments conducted by the Cruiser Olympia Living History Crew.

The collection focuses on maritime history and culture along the Delaware River and in the Port of Philadelphia from early America to the present.