Construction and engineering teams have been hard at work and the recovery of the cars and restoration of the building is proceeding well.
Three Corvettes were judged most accessible and were recovered first: a 2009 'Blue Devil' ZR1, a 1993 40th Anniversary Ruby Red Corvette and a 1962 Black Corvette.
Spectators watched from the Museum's plexiglass viewing area and the construction and engineering crews a huge sigh of relief.
"I see body damage (on the '62). The chassis looks intact, the frame's not bent, the interior (other than being a little dirty) is pristine. So, I think it's some fibreglass work, some ornamentation work, and paint," said John Spencer, Manufacturing Integration Manager at the GM Corvette Assembly Plant. "This car is in amazing shape considering what it's been through. I don't see anything unrepairable."
All three rescued cars are now on display in the museum's exhibit hall. They will be joined in late April by the remaining five Corvettes which will hopefully also survive.
The museum is planning a formal exhibit of these cars "as is," along with various photos, videos, information and artefacts until early August. The plexiglass viewing area of the Skydome will be available as long as construction is on-going, and the 'dome' is expected to re-open by late August.
"While we don't know exactly how long the repair and remediation of the sinkhole will take, we feel confident that the Skydome will be as good as new in time for the museum's 20th Anniversary Celebration at the end of August," said Executive Director Wendell Strode.
"August will be an exciting time in Bowling Green, Kentucky as we will have over 10 000 Corvette enthusiasts travelling from all over the country to celebrate the museum, the opening of our motor sports park and now the re-opening of our Skydome."
Among the other cars that fell into the sinkhole were a 1984 Corvette PPG Pace Par; the one-millionth Corvette, a 1992 model; a 1993 40th Anniversary Corvette; a 2001 Mallett Hammer Z06 Corvette; and the 1.5-millionth Corvette, from the 2009 model year.
Emergency personnel allowed staff to remove one irreplaceable car nearby that had not fallen into the sinkhole: the only surviving 1983 Corvette, a prototype from a model year when no Corvettes were produced for sale because of quality problems.
The National Corvette Museum opened 20 years ago and is about a mile from the assembly plant where all Corvettes are built.
In the sinkhole: a 1962 black Corvette, a 1993 40th Anniversary Ruby Red, the 2009 'Blue Devil' ZR1 and the one millionth Corvette (under '62).
