"Do you have any eggs?" customer Devin Uriarte asks.

The shopkeeper begins to look through his stock. "Yes, I have eggs. I'll trade you one apple for two eggs," he says.

As the customers barter and calculate their purchases on slips of paper, Amelia trades her peaches for one pie, a stick of butter, yarn and eggs. Then Amelia rethinks the pie and decides to trade it back for coffee.

For Christian Ayala, the pie is a must-have.

"I'll trade everything for the pie," he says, offering his entire basket of goods.

Even in the "make believe" general store where Christian is a 1905 farmer, his eagerness hints at the third-grader's sweet-tooth.

Customers Amelia, Devin and Christian are all third-grade students at River Glen Elementary School, which is part of the San Jose Unified School District. The group has come to the Campbell Historical Museum for a hands-on lesson about the valley's past. Throughout the morning, the children learn what life was like 100 years ago.

"It's such an amazing experience for the kids," River Glen third-grade teacher Gwen Henneman says. She has been taking her students on the yearly field trip for four years.

The Campbell Museum is a good choice because its educational program meets California's academic standards for third-graders learning about local history, Henneman says. The museum exhibits teach students about communities, home life, recreation and work in Santa Clara County during a time when ranches and farms dominated the landscape.

Museum educator Kerry Dickie says the educational program's success--serving nearly 5,000 children annually--lies in its ability to capture the children's attention. Instead of the traditional exhibits that are meant only to be viewed and discussed, the Campbell Museum is a "please touch" environment.

By "playing" with history, the museum field trips appeal to a variety of learning styles, Henneman says. Some children are more apt to learn from what they see or hear, while others learn by doing or touching, she says. During the morning, children not only weigh their general store purchases on a scale, but also listen to a phonograph, scrutinize an icebox and prepare for a tea party. The children also explore the museum's historic instruments, such as an Ohlone hand drill or an antique sewing machine.

The students learn how much the world has changed since 1905. They discover that the general store was more than a place to buy canned goods or rat traps. It also served as a social center for the farming community, housing a recreation hall, post office and library. Bartering was a way of life; that is one of the biggest differences the children discover between 1905 and 2005.

The museum field trip is equally interactive for parent volunteers. Jimenez, the shopkeeper, is the father of Maritza Jimenez. Four other parents help staff the home, recreation and work sections. All the parents receive a short training session from Dickie.

Irma Munoz, Jacqueline Ayala's mother, leads a group of students through the home exhibit. When discussing appliances such as old-fashioned milk bottles, butter churns and ice cream makers, Munoz laces the lessons with personal tales.

Munoz tells the children how milkmen used to deliver bottles to her home. The traditional mortar and pestle, although replaced by electronic food processors, are still used to make tortillas, she says.

At a metal washing machine invented shortly after wooden washing appliances, Munoz transports the children to a time when washing was a full-day event. Washing was generally done on Mondays because Sunday night leftovers gave the women time away from the kitchen to wash the family's clothes, she says.

Each student shaves slivers off handmade soap into the metal washing machine to create soapy water. With shirt in hand, the students hand-propel the washer and manually crank the wringer to squeeze out the water. The students then hang the washed shirt on a clothesline.

Washing clothes in modern washers and dryers may be an easier way to wash clothes, but Amelia says using the hand-propelled machine is simply "funner."

At the work exhibit, parent volunteer Elsa Medina talks to the students about Campbell's firemen. The museum was Campbell's old firehouse.

In contrast to the hard hats and fire trucks used today, Medina tells students that firefighters in the early 1900s used leather helmets that had long bills to keep water and embers from their necks. Instead of calling 911 to alert volunteers to the fire, citizens would ring a large silver bell in the center of town.

By 1935, Campbell formed a bicycle brigade of firefighters to get closer to the blazes. The all-volunteer unit raised money to operate the fire station by washing down buildings in town. The department even sold an old fire engine to a farmer, who used the truck to spray his orchard.

Although the students eyed the fire equipment with fascination, the highlight was stepping into firefighter gear. Each student tried on a firefighter uniform and connected a hose to the nozzle.

Along with the important role of work, students learned how Campbell residents enjoyed their leisure time.

Life before Gameboys and televisions included theater, where everyone in the community played a role from performing to making costumes. Parents Lillian Guajardo and Evangelina Trillo tell the students about the popularity of pump organs and phonographs.

In order to immerse the students in the leisurely life of 1905, the parents prepared the students for a tea party. The students cut finger sandwiches into shapes such as butterflies and cats and practiced their manners at the table.

"You have to have your pinky up," student Yesenia Medina tells her classmates. The old custom is only half-understood by classmate Jovany Pedroza, who daintily lifts his right hand with his pinky finger extended as he sips tea with his left hand.

As the three-hour journey through time ends, Marisia Castro reflects on what she learned about the valley's past.

"I know life would be harder if I lived back then," Marisia says. "People had to work hard."