During these long summer days when night falls very late and you’ve got hours to figure out how to fill, why not try something completely different? Most people spend hot summer days at the beach, amusement parks, fairs, camp or the pool. But here’s a fun, new idea for you and your friends to try this summer:

Look up in the local phone book or directory for a nearby mansion or castle. Many different towns have public hours for these historic sites where you can either join a tour-group or explore the grounds of these buildings yourself. Once you find a location, invite all your friends to a day from the past where you recreate the aesthetic beauty of the Victorian times, but give it a futuristic twist. You got it—Steampunk style. If you want to turn this into an actual event, talk to the mansion’s director about renting out the grounds for a few hours and charge people to come to your event to raise money for a charity of your choice.

Once you’ve got the perfect location, grab your gears and cogs, goggles, corsets, boots, and bags and take your friends to this mansion. Bring along  music and dance in the mansion gardens. You can even set up a stand in the grounds and help each other put on makeup and create cool Steampunk hairstyles. Recreate the Victorian mood and turn this event into a lunch-party with music, laughter, and friends.

Once you’ve finished in the gardens and everyone is dressed in steampunk attire from their hair to their shoes, take the party inside. Explore the mansion, but pretend you actually live in Victorian times! Bring the steampunk culture with you. Finish this event off with a dance or a hands-on craft project where you make some steampunk DIY accessories for you to take home!

For a different twist, dress in your steampunk getup, but don’t rent out the mansion for yourself. Instead, visit it during public hours and when people stop to ask why you’re dressed like that, you can explain what steampunk culture is. In addition to teaching someone something new and interesting, you will make a new friend!

For an additional steampunk-themed activity so you can continue the festivities into the night, create a scavenger hunt. Wait until it’s already dark and distribute flashlights to make it even harder. Choose steampunk related items to hide (maybe even some of the crafts people made earlier in the day) and whoever finds the most objects wins a prize!

Steampunk is all about re-imagining how things could have been in a rewritten version of the steam age. With a little creativity and imagination, you can create the perfect activity for you and your friends to try something new and put a steamy twist to an average summer day.