Family Vacations: National Corvette Museum and Factory Tour

The first thing you see as you drive into the parking lot of this Bowling Green, Kentucky, sports car plant are the front-row spots designated "Corvette Parking Only." That's just the beginning of the loving attention that this museum and factory shines on America's wildly popular sports car, introduced in 1953.

More than 75 Corvettes are on display at the museum, with everything from the first cars to roll off the assembly line to the one-millionth Corvette manufactured to the super-sci-fi, finned Stingray. Many of the cars are placed in a nostalgic tableaux, such as an old-time garage and gas station. In addition to the collection of cars, there are videos, scale models, Schwinn Corvette bicycles, and various other rare memorabilia on display.

Visitors to the museum can take a tour of the Corvette assembly plant across the street. Here, a tour guide takes you past robots welding the steel frame together and workers installing the seats, wheels, and roof. You'll witness the "marriage," which in car talk means the point at which the chassis and the engine come together, and the moment when the Corvette is driven off the end of the line.

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National Corvette Museum and Factory Tour

Address: 350 Corvette Dr., Bowling Green, KY

Phone: 270/781-7973, 800/53-VETTE

Hours of Operation: 8 a.m. - 5 p.m., daily

Admission: Museum $10 for adults and $5 for kids / Plant tours: $10 per person

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Laura Sutherland is a widely acknowledged authority on family travel and has published several books on the topic, including Best Family Ski Vacations In North America and Tropical Family Vacations.