(Bowling Green, KY)-Did you know that the National Corvette Museum is just down the road in Bowling Green, KY? Nestled just off of I-65, sets the museum features the “sky dome” which catches your attention from the interstate with it’s yellow and red design. The beautiful exterior of the building is eye-catching, but the real beauty is on the inside featuring numerous exhibits, both permanent and temporary that tell the history of the classic American Muscle Car.
The welcoming lobby features just a sample of the newest and neatest corvettes, the corvette museum store, and you can even grab a bite to eat at the Stingray Cafe located inside of the main lobby. The lobby display also includes the current corvettes that are being raffled off, as well as a corvette racing simulator, and the corvette museum library and archives.
In the first exhibit in the tour, you learn the history of of 1998 Corvette Hall of Fame inductee, Harley Earl. Earl was an automotive designer and played a major role in the development of many General Motors vehicles including the Corvette. This exhibit takes you through Earl’s contributions to the automotive industry and to General Motors.
The next exhibit is titled “The Nostalgia Gallery” and rightfully so. This exhibit is a walk down Main Street featuring a retro barbershop, car dealership and a look at a St. Louis assembly line with the “Marriage Corvette” and not the kind that the husband buys without the wife knowing and ending a marriage.
Another featured exhibit is the E. Pierce Marshall Memorial Performance gallery. When you think of galleries at most museums, you think of a boring collection of paintings on a wall. This gallery is quite the opposite. This gallery features high performance race machines that have been raced throughout the years under the corvette brand. This is definitely a must see for all of our gearhead “Let’s Talk Racing” fans and a favorite of mine in the museum.
The look of the corvette has changed dramatically since it’s debut in 1953. The gallery titled “Driven by Design” features prototypes, models and actual corvettes from throughout the years and how the design of the corvette has changed.
Another exhibit is the “Corvette Cave-In” that has numerous interactive displays from the infamous 2014 sink hole in the Hall of Fame rotunda. This informative, yet exhilarating exhibit is sure to be a favorite of the young and old and tells a great story of the rebuilding of that portion of the museum.
A staple at the museum is the Corvette Hall of Fame. This beautiful exhibit features a diverse selection of corvettes that have been loaned to the museum for show. The Corvette Hall of Fame also pays tribute to the hall of fame members who have been inducted since 1998 in three different categories: enthusiasts, GM/Chevrolet and Racing.
The final exhibit is the newest exhibit titled “Custom CARisma” and pays tribute to the designs and cars of Kentucky Motorsports Hall of Fame member, Carl Casper. Cars on display include the batmobile, Cosmic Invader, Carl Casper’s Renegade, the Knight Cruiser and much more.
With spring break right around the corner, plan a trip down to the National Corvette Museum in Bowling Green. You’ll be glad you did. For admission prices and more-visit www.corvettemuseum.org.
-Blake Smith, Host of Let’s Talk Racing.