The calendar was turned back to the 19th century for a few hours Wednesday, July 26 in the Wiscasset neighborhood of High and Lee streets for kids to experience what summer fun was like in the good old days.

Youngsters participating in the Wiscasset Public Library’s Summer Vacation Reading Program were invited for an afternoon of fun and games hosted by Historic New England’s Castle Tucker at 2 Lee St. Julia Einstein, Historic New England’s education coordinator, and Hope Mowry, a museum educator, served as hosts.

Boys and girls, some joined by their parents, enjoyed activities including coloring pictures of Wiscasset’s historic buildings like the Lincoln County Courthouse, playing “lawn tennis” (badminton) and croquet. The featured activity was a guided tour of the historic Castle Tucker.

The program began with a reading of the children’s book “The Town That Got Out of Town” by Robert Priest. The story was illustrated with interesting black and white block prints depicting famous buildings in Boston and Portland. It kept with the library’s summer theme, “Build A Better World,” which has explored many different types of architecture.

Einstein said this is the second year in a row Historic New England has hosted the event at Castle Tucker. During the school year, Historic New England participates in Wiscasset Elementary School’s fifth grade unit exploring Wiscasset history. Einstein added, a local history unit for Wiscasset eighth graders is based around a 19th century play written by the Tucker children.

Castle Tucker was once the home of the Tucker family. From the lawns of the landmark building, visitors have a beautiful view of Bradbury Cove, White’s Island and Wiscasset Harbor. The building is a block from the library at 21 High Street.

For more about Castle Tucker and Historic New England properties, including the Nickels-Sortwell House at 121 Main St., Wiscasset visit MaineEd@historicnewengland.org