While you’re driving around the area checking out art museums, stop by these cool and diverse collections and experience true novelty beyond the canvas.

Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, Cleveland, www.rockhall.com
Any music lover will feel right at home at this museum, which will feature Help! Behind the Scenes of the Beatles’ Movie through Sept. 1, paying homage to the Beatles’ impact on our culture based on the group’s classic 1965 movie, Help!

If you’re into the deeper, darker rock music of the era, Break on Through: The Lasting Legacy of the Doors has been extended until Sept. 1. The exhibit provides a career overview, instruments, rare manuscripts, production notes, audio, video and photography.

Cleveland Museum of Natural History, www.cmnh.org
Take a walk through history in any of these exhibits: Triceratops Horridus – The museum’s newest dinosaur; Humans: A Field Guide, which runs through April 27; and Animal Expressions: Bronzes by Larry Isard, which runs through March 23.

The Children’s Museum of Cleveland, www.clevelandchildrensmuseum.org
Attention Ground Control! In collaboration with NASA, the BlastOff! exhibit allows children to pretend, play and explore space in a creative, hands-on environment. Or check out the permanent exhibit Splish Splash, which engages children by teaching about the earth’s water systems and the weather.

National Afro-American Museum and Cultural Center, Wilberforce, http://ohsweb.ohiohistory.org/places/sw13/index.shtml
Witness the struggles of African Americans from 1945 to 1965 in the exhibit From Victory to Freedom: Afro-American Life in the Fifties, which runs April 7-12. The exhibit chronicles the trends, struggles and social changes through a variety of photographs, artifacts, life-sized scenes.

The Children’s Museum of Indianapolis, www.childrensmuseum.org
While you have your kids’ attention, swing over to Indianapolis for the Curious George: Let’s Get Curious! exhibit, through August. Also featured: Fireworks of Glass, the largest permanent sculpture of glass by artist Dale Chihuly; All Aboard, featuring the “age of steam” with full- and toy-sized trains; and What if..? featuring an underwater coral reef, dinosaur discovery area and an Egyptian tomb.

Louisville Slugger Museum & Factory, Louisville, www.sluggermuseum.org
America’s pastime at its best, this museum welcomes visitors with a giant bat and has perpetually changing exhibits on some of the best players to grace the diamond. Hit a home run by swinging through the gift shop and picking up a personalized Slugger bat, mini bat or bionic glove.

Kentucky Derby Museum, Louisville, www.derbymuseum.org
Get an in depth look into Thoroughbred racing and the historic Kentucky Derby by visiting these current exhibits: “Horsing Around With Art:” A student’s view of the Sport of Kings; The Warner L. Jones, Jr. Time Machine permits visitors to select film footage of Derbys back to 1918; and, beginning in April, A Look at Derby Fashion including, yes, the hats.

Beginning March 14, visitors also have the opportunity to tour the stable area and infield at Churchill Downs.

The Henry Ford Museum, Detroit, www.thehenryford.org
A relatively new permanent exhibit, With Liberty and Justice for All, explores the struggles in the quest for freedom in America. Featuring some of the most treasured national artifacts, including Abraham Lincoln’s chair, the Rosa Parks bus and George Washington’s camp bed, the exhibit covers the American Revolution through the African-American Civil Rights Movement of the 1950s and ‘60s.

Motown Historical Museum, Detroit, www.motownmuseum.com
This treasure of popular culture traces the roots of Motown’s remarkable story with a wide selection of exhibits, all of which include historical photographs, artwork, music, costumes, and memorabilia.

Bayernhof Museum, Pittsburgh, www.bayernhofmuseum.com
Housed and acquired by Charles Brown III, this museum holds a collection of old, rare and automatic musical instruments that include antique music boxes, organs, pipe pianos, violins and banjos. Stop by to enter an unknown musical world and experience the antiquity of the world’s musical instruments.

You don’t have to go too far to learn about cool things. The Columbus area has quite an eclectic collection!

Learn how whistles are made at the American Whistle Corporation, 6540 Huntley Road, Columbus, 614-846-2918, www.americanwhistle.com.

See television how it began at the Early Television Museum, 5396 Franklin St., Hilliard, 614-771-0510, www.earlytelevision.org.

Tee-off with the legend of the Golden Bear at the Jack Nicklaus Museum, 2355 Olentangy River Rd., Columbus, 614-247-5959, www.nicklausmuseum.org.

Experience transportation’s past at The Ohio Railway Museum, 990 Proprietors Road, Worthington, 614-885-7345, www.ohiorailwaymuseum.org.

Learn about the Kelton House Museum and Garden’s involvement in the Underground Railroad, 586 East Town St., Columbus, 614-464-2022, www.kelton.org/house

Observe beautiful glass creations and check out the Cranberry Glass Exhibit, which runs through April 30 at the Ohio Glass Museum, 126 W. Main St., Lancaster, 740-687-0101, www.ohioglassmuseum.org.

Kelly Nelson is a contributing writer for Luxury Living Magazine.