Miranda Pederson/Daily News Kyle Riney, 6, of Bowling Green, tries to open the door Friday after riding in a Corvette with Adam Boca, a National Corvette Museum staff member, during Vette Camp at the museum.

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While some kids made ornaments in various shapes and colors or watched the rollover simulator in the front lobby of the National Corvette Museum, another group of kids watched “The Little Rascals,” anxiously awaiting their turn to ride in a 1984 Corvette.

“That’s the fastest I’ve been. It felt like a roller coaster,” said 9-year-old Luke Anderson, who said his stomach did flips when the driver - Adam Boca - sped up. “It was cool.”

Although Boca only did a speed limit of 35 mph in the parking lot outside the museum, for many of the children, like Luke, it was “the fastest they had ever been” and the highlight of the 2010 Vette Camp - a first for the museum.

“Getting to ride in the Corvette was my favorite part,” said Kahle, 10, who also participated in Bowling Green Technical College’s Chef Camp earlier this summer. “It went fast.”

Vette Camp, sponsored by the Corvette museum, finished up Friday. It offered 30 children the opportunity to explore the museum and increase their knowledge on the different aspects of automobiles.

“It’s been fun,” said Stephanie Morrill, membership and customer service manager at the museum. “We’ve taught them about safety and enhanced their knowledge of Corvettes and transportation in general.”

After looking at other camps in the community and with Bowling Green being the city of Corvettes, museum personnel felt a camp centered around the city’s car would be a way to expand its educational program, Morrill said.

“We’re trying to tie everything into automobiles,” she said.

Morrill said when looking to do a camp, she found a lot of camps end two weeks before school begins, and felt there was a need that they could fill by providing a camp the week before school gets back into full swing.

“Parents now have somewhere they can have their children go to that last week before school starts,” she said.

The camp will become an annual weeklong event at the museum during the last week of July, Morrill said.

The museum, after undergoing renovation and expansion, now has more space available to bring in different events and hands-on exhibits, like the upcoming Camaros exhibit. With the expansion came an increase in programming in efforts to make the museum more family friendly, said Katie Frassinelli, public relations coordinator for the museum.

“(The museum) isn’t just for adults,” she said.

The camp, she said, also doubled as a way to get children interested in Corvettes. She said the average age of a Corvette owner is 58, and if children can get excited about the car at an early age, it could spawn a younger generation of Corvette owners.

“Anyone who’s driven a Corvette, or rode in a Corvette, remembers that. Everyone remembers that moment,” Frassinelli said. “And I think for these kids, this is their moment.”

Throughout the week, the campers took a tour of the General Motors assembly plant, viewed simulators on drinking and driving and the importance of wearing seat belts, did an assembly line activity where they learned about the manufacturing process and made life-size driver’s licenses and asphalt out of chocolate.

“I liked all the activities,” said Madison Morrill, 6. “We got to do a lot.”

But Friday was a day dedicated to the car itself, as the campers got to ride in the 1984 Corvette driven by Boca.

Boca said he was about the campers’ age when he had his first ride in a Corvette, which sparked his lifelong interest in the car.

“The coolest thing for me was seeing their faces ... they were amazed at how nice the car was, the dashboard and the switches,” he said.

Also on Friday, the campers got to start the engine to one of the two Corvettes brought over to the museum from the assembly plant, and received trophies for their participation in camp during their “finish line” ceremony.

“This camp has been really fun,” Luke Anderson said. “We got to see and do a lot of cool stuff. But, I really like the car. If I can afford one when I get older, I’d definitely get it.”