The National Corvette Museum showcases the Chevrolet Corvette, an American sports car that has been in production since 1953. It is located in Bowling Green, Kentucky, off Interstate 65's Exit 28 and near the General Motors' Bowling Green Assembly Plant, where Corvettes are solely manufactured. It was constructed in 1994. It was opened to the public in September of that year.
In September 2026, the museum opened its 66,000-square-foot Collection Facility to create space for future growth of its Corvette collection. Public tours of the Collections Facility are scheduled to open in early 2027. The museum was recently gifted a 1967 Corvette Sting Ray, once owned by the first man on the moon, astronaut Neil Armstrong.
2014 Sinkhole in the Skydome On February 12, 2014, a sinkhole opened under the floor of the Skydome area of the museum at around 5:44 AM local time, causing a portion of the floor to collapse. Kentucky is one of the many states that is notable for having karst topography. Karst topography is the landscape that is formed from the dissolving of rocks such as limestone. In the museum's case, the sinkhole was caused by the dissolving of the limestone in the ground which caused pockets to open underneath the surface. Eventually, the weight of the building caused the top layer of soil to collapse. Eight rare and one-of-a-kind Corvettes, portions of the display stands, rails, large concrete floor, slabs and dirt fell into the sinkhole, causing serious damage to some of the Corvettes. The Corvettes involved have an estimated value of a million dollars.
The remaining 20 cars in the Skydome were immediately removed from that area. Between March 3, 2014, and March 6, 2014, 5 of the 8 Corvettes were recovered from the sinkhole. The spire area of the Skydome was reinforced before work started on removing the final three buried cars. Multiple multigravity tests were done to ensure that another sinkhole wasn't present or in the making. The results came back clear which allowed for the construction work to begin. For an added precaution, micropiles, or systems of steel rods, were inserted into the ground before the concrete was repoured to help give the building more support.Katie Frassinelli The museum reopened the day after the sinkhole appeared.
An exhibit opened in the museum two years later to tell the story of what happened that day and why it happened. This exhibit gives visitors the chance to virtually recover the cars that were in the sinkhole.
Hall of Fame The museum also sponsors the Corvette Hall of Fame for individuals who have been involved with the Corvette automobile and made significant contributions in their respective fields. Each year, from two to six persons have been inducted into this select group. Members have been divided into three categories: enthusiasts, GM/Chevrolet, and racing.
+Honorees Year Names Category 1998 Bill Mitchell GM/Chevrolet Harley Earl GM/Chevrolet Larry Shinoda GM/Chevrolet Joe Pike GM/Chevrolet Ed Cole GM/Chevrolet Zora Arkus-Duntov GM/Chevrolet 1999 Jim Perkins GM/Chevrolet Dave McLellan GM/Chevrolet Dick Guldstrand Racing 2000 John Fitch Racing Dick Thompson Racing Jerry Palmer GM/Chevrolet 2001 Gibson Hufstader GM/Chevrolet Joseph Spielman GM/Chevrolet Betty Skelton Racing 2002 John Cafaro GM/Chevrolet Jim Jeffords Racing Myron Scott GM/Chevrolet 2003 Noland Adams Enthusiast Robert Morrison Enthusiast 2004 Ray Battaglini Enthusiast Darrel Bowlin Enthusiast Jon Brookmyer Enthusiast Dan Gale Enthusiast Terry McManmon Enthusiast 2005 Chip Miller Enthusiast Randy Wittine GM/Chevrolet Don Yenko Racing 2006 Dave Hill GM/Chevrolet John Lingenfelter Racing Gary Mortimer Enthusiast 2007 Doug Hooper Racing Gordon Killebrew Enthusiast Carl Renner GM/Chevrolet 2008 Allan and Don Barker Racing Reeves Callaway Enthusiast Maurice Olley GM/Chevrolet 2009 Duane Bohnstedt GM/Chevrolet Tony De Lorenzo and Jer Thompson Racing John Hinckley Enthusiast 2010 Grady Davis Racing Fred Gallasch Enthusiast Jim Ingle GM/Chevrolet 2011 Clare "Mac" MacKichan GM/Chevrolet Ray Quinlan Enthusiast Ron Fellows Racing2012 Andy Pilgrim Racing Gary Claudio GM/Chevrolet Patrick Dolan Enthusiast Bob McDorman Enthusiast2013 Johnny O'Connell Racing Wil Cooksey GM/Chevrolet Werner Meier Enthusiast2014 Dave MacDonald Racing John Heinricy GM/Chevrolet Jerry Burton Enthusiast2015 Herb Fishel Racing Russ McLean GM/Chevrolet Rick Hendrick Enthusiast2016 Bob Bondurant Racing Ralph Kramer GM/Chevrolet Donna Mae Mims Enthusiast2017 Tommy Morrison Racing Jim Minneker GM/Chevrolet Peter Brock Enthusiast2018 Burt and John Greenwood Racing Tom Wallace GM/Chevrolet Mike Yager Enthusiast2019 Briggs Cunningham Racing Tom Peters GM/Chevrolet Dollie Cole Enthusiast2020 Doug Fehan Racing Henry Haga GM/Chevrolet Wendell Strode Enthusiast Mike McCagh Enthusiast2022 Gary Pratt and Jim Miller Racing Ed Welburn GM/Chevrolet Elfi Arkus-Duntov Enthusiast2023 Dan Binks Racing David Wickman GM/Chevrolet John Amgwert Enthusiast2024 Oliver Gavin & Jan Magnussen Racing Tadge Juechter GM/Chevrolet Richard Prince Enthusiast2025Kim BakerRacingChuck JordanGM/ChevroletJim & Charley RobertsonEnthusiast2026John MiddlebrookRacingKirk Bennion & Harlan CharlesGM/ChevroletJames SchefterEnthusiast
See also List of sinkholes of the United States
References
External links
Official Corvette website Chubb Corporation, Our Stories: National Corvette Museum - "Flying Cars. Crash Landing."