Channel your inner Scorsese and learn to shoot a film.

By Lisa Rogak

If you happen to be the type of traveler who prefers learning something new on vacation, you are in good company. According to the Travel Industry Association, about 30 million adults have taken a "learning vacation" in the past three years, ranging in length from a weekend to a week and even longer.

"People want more from their vacations, and they want to learn something, too," says Peter Nicas, editor of Professional Travel Guide. "It's a sign that the travel industry has matured. Now that Americans have seen much of the world, they want to experience it in a new way."

A learning vacation is defined as an excursion that combines travel and education. It's a trip that focuses not only the body and spirit, but also the mind. Popular versions are geared around learning how to cook a particular cuisine, how to snap wildlife photos or how to surf a monster wave. But more creative travelers continue to seek out less traditional options. For those who really are looking to try something new, vacations built around blacksmithing, filmmaking, playing the bagpipes and learning to drive a race car should fit the bill.

Read about each vacation or enjoy the entire Learning Vacation Slide Show:

Learn How to Shoot a Film
Maine Media Workshops, Rockport, Maine

Learn How to Drive a Race Car
Porsche Sport Driving School, Birmingham, Ala.

Learn How to Make Wine
Wine Camp, Long Island, N.Y.

Learn How to Forge Tools
Heritage School at The Conservancy, Butler, Pa.

Learn How to Hunt
The Gleneagles Hotel, Auchterarder, Scotland

Learn How to Play the Bagpipes
Gaelic College, Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia, Canada

Learn How to Captain a Motorboat
Bay and Reef Company, the Florida Keys

Learn How to Paint
Abruzzi Mountain Workshop, Anversa, Italy