At the Firestone Farm — the boyhood home of Harvey Firestone, who would become famous for his tires — you can see how farming was done in the 1880s, when wrinkly Merino sheep, Percheron draft horses, Devon shorthorn cattle, Poland-China pigs and Light Brahma chickens were kept out back.

Meals are cooked daily; chores are done around the house and yard; animals are given care; crops are grown. It gives you a good view of 19th-century farm life.

More working adventures can be found in the Liberty Craftsworks district. There you can see everything from glass blowing and pottery throwing to spinning, weaving, carding, printing, grinding and more. Demonstrations go on throughout the day; a variety of finished products is for sale, in case you want a souvenir; and if nothing else, you can enjoy the scenic millpond in the center of the district.

One final venue awaits: the Railroad Junction, reminiscent of the edge of an industrial town, where all roads lead to the depot. Added in 2000, the Detroit, Toledo & Milwaukee Roundhouse is the newest addition to Greenfield Village and is the only working roundhouse in the Midwest, one of only seven working roundhouses in the country.

The Pere Marquette Railroad Turntable allows a locomotive to be turned in a small space. You might even be able to help. You might also get to stand in the inspection pit and see what a 50-ton locomotive looks like from the bottom up.

The Smith's Creek Depot at the junction is where Edison worked as a boy selling newspapers. It was originally in Port Huron, Mich.

By the time you've made it around the village, whether on train or foot or Model T, you will have a renewed appreciation for the little ingenuities that have changed the world. You will think differently about even mundane things such as hats and ketchup. You will respect anew people who followed their passion into the air, the laboratory, the fields or the library. And you will agree with Henry Ford: This is a pretty good way to learn some history.

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E-mail: carma@desnews.com