When the kids had a day off school a few weeks back, we decided to visit the Steamboat Arabia. This museum has been on our list for awhile now! The Steamboat Arabia sank near Kansas City in 1856 and was recovered in 1988. The items recovered show what life was like on the American frontier. The museum is the largest collection of pre-Civil War artifacts in the world. You are able to join a tour to learn about the ship and its recovery, as well as see a movie about the recovery. One of the people who helped recover the ship was at the museum while we were!
This is the stern section of the hull of the ship.
The treasures are arranged almost like they are in a store. There are many types of treasures to be seen, all recovered from the shipwreck!
This is the tree that the steamboat hit which led to it sinking.
You can see the original ship boilers, engine, anchor, and paddlewheel on a replicated ship deck.
The one casualty of the sinking was a donkey.
Workers are still restoring items from the collection and they estimate it will take another 30 years to completely restore! What an interesting museum!