Katikati College student Toby Hendy will be telling Tauranga astronomers this week all about her recent trip to space camp.

Toby is one of only two New Zealand students to be selected by the Royal Society of NZ to attend the USA International Space Camp that was held in Huntsville, Alabama, in July.

Toby Hendy.

With 150 like students from 23 different countries, 16 year old Toby was immersed in activities including "hands-on" astronaut training, as well as learning about the mental, emotional and physical demands that astronauts must face.

She was also involved in leadership training, and experienced scuba diving and actual weightlessness in the space simulator.

Toby will be at the Tauranga Astronomical Observatory in Fergusson Park at 7.30pm Tuesday night, when she will be presenting a short programme of her amazing experiences.

Astronomy society member George Stewart says students and members of the public are warmly welcome to attend her talk, which will be followed by a DVD of the evolution of the telescope, and the Society's big telescope will be in operation.

Toby was chosen based off her application, which included a letter of recommendation, and NCEA results – she didn't even need an interview.

'I just said this is something I am interested in and something I want to do when I leave school. My parents aren't really into space, it is something of mine. Its' always been with me and it's the only thing that is really still a mystery.”