Brooklands Museum received a special visit recently with some very excited Girl Guides.

In her first official engagement as Girlguiding Patron, Her Royal Highness The Duchess of Edinburgh joined 100 Brownies, Guides and Rangers.

Together, they made a live Amateur Radio contact with the International Space Station as part of the STEM event.

Nicola Kitney, Assistant County Commissioner Girlguiding Surrey West said: “It’s incredibly important for girls to know that space and STEM is as much for them as it is for boys.

“We are thrilled and incredibly grateful to RSGB, ARISS, UK Space Agency, Brooklands Museum and our Patron, Her Royal Highness The Duchess of Edinburgh for making today’s event a success.

“Opportunities like today’s event are what Girlguiding is all about - inspiring and encouraging girls to know they can do anything.”

Ten chosen Girlguiding Surrey West members aged between seven and 18 years old were given the once in a lifetime opportunity of asking astronaut Sunita Williams questions about her experiences in space.

Joined by The Duchess of Edinburgh, they asked Sunita about the food astronauts eat, where they sleep, the temperature, going on space walks, missing Earth, and what space smells like.

Other activities included making stomp rockets and learning how satellites work with a demonstration of a CubeSat Simulator. Building Morse keys in the shape of a snail and how to use BBC micro:bits for Morse texting.

Brownie, Amelie, 10, said: “Today was amazing. I loved linking up to an actual astronaut in space and it was really cool that she was overhead Brooklands Museum where we were. I was also really lucky to meet our Patron, HRH The Duchess of Edinburgh.”

UK reserve ESA Astronaut Meganne Christian surprised the girls with a special appearance and answered any further questions they had about space exploration.