[1] The museum is operated by the partners of River Salvage Inc., who excavated the Arabia, and claims to have the largest single collection of pre-Civil War artifacts in the world.

Finally, visitors walk a 171-foot-long full-scale reproduction of the Arabia's main deck, where they can see archival footage of the excavation process and more information about its history, along with the original boilers, engine, anchor, and the skeleton of a mule.

[2] The museum's collection consists of hundreds of thousands of items intended for daily life on the frontier including more than 4,000 boots and shoes, 247 hats, 235 ax heads, 29 jars of pickles, 328 pocket knives, and one children's doll.

[5] In January 2013, the museum was closed for the first time in its 20-year history, to repair the ceiling and have the displays cleaned, reorganized, and expanded.

In addition to the artifacts, Heinz curators displayed information about the preservation process and a replica of the mule that represents the only fatality of the sinking.

The cargo, destined for 16 towns on the frontier, was buried under a cornfield in Wyandotte County, Kansas, for 132 years until it was discovered in 1988 by River Salvage Inc.,[8] a group of self-proclaimed treasure hunters who began excavations.

Although their original goal was to sell their discoveries, the historical importance of the finding quickly became apparent, and they started to plan a museum.

[10] Today, it is still owned and operated by the Hawley family, who are present there most days, often greeting visitors and answering questions.

In the three months following the dig, larger wooden artifacts, including the stern, paddle wheel, and the lumber for two prefabricated houses found on board, were submerged in an 80-by-20-foot pool specially dug by the team.

[3]: 175–186  Organic materials like wood and leather are submerged in a food preservative called polyethylene glycol (PEG) and then freeze-dried.

In 2019, it was proposed to build the larger museum and move to Jefferson City, about 140 miles from the site of the Arabia wreck.

[23] In 2021, plans were made to create the National Steamboat Museum at Marshall Junction, Missouri, about 77 miles from the site of the wreck.