Ever wonder what it was like working in a fruit orchard or canning factory? What about in a factory, making microchips, or in a cubicle, programming software?

On Sept. 24 visitors to the Campbell Historical Museum will get the chance to experience what it was like working in the Santa Clara Valley during different eras via a new exhibit, “Canneries to Computers.”

The exhibit showcases the vastly different ways Santa Clara Valley residents have earned a living. It highlights the Valley of Heart’s Delight and its fruit-growing days and details its transition to Silicon Valley, when tech began its takeover.

“Canneries helped create the Valley of Heart’s Delight, while computers brought in Silicon Valley,” says museum senior specialist Kerry Perkins. “This [exhibit] will explore different work in the valley at different times.”

The exhibit includes interactive components as well as a timeline of the Santa Clara Valley’s transformation into a tech hub. Interactive parts of the exhibit have tubes that replicate the scents a cannery worker would smell. A computer from the 20th century is on display, with a small feature giving visitors a chance to see what coding was like on early computer models.

“Visitors will get to see what an average workday was like for people who worked in orchards and canneries,” Perkins says. “They’ll get to see what a programmer or engineer would do when the valley started to shift toward tech.”

The timeline shows what types of work brought employees to the Santa Clara Valley, such as orchards that once covered a majority of Campbell to military jobs when the Almaden Air Force Station was still in commission.

The exhibit also depicts the geographical changes the land has gone through as more people came to the valley for different lines of work.

“People started to buy up the orchard land to build business parks,” Perkins says.

“Canneries to Computers” will be on display in the museum for four years. Perkins expects many students to pass through the exhibit during that time and believes the theme will resonate with them.

“With all the school kids coming in, this exhibit will be very relevant to them since they’re living in tech now,” she says.

Opening day is Sept. 24. A formal reception will be held in October at a to-be-determined date and time, according to Perkins.

The Campbell Historical Museum is located at 51 N. Central Ave. in Campbell.

For more information, visit cityofcampbell.com/museum.