Sri Lanka Planetarium is the first and only planetarium in Sri Lanka and is run by the Ministry of Science, Technology and Research. The planetarium was established on 1 February 1965 by the State Engineering Corporation as a special feature of the Ceylon Industrial Exhibition in Colombo. Planetarium has been designed by the Chief Engineer of the State Engineering Corporation of Sri Lanka, A. N. S. Kulasinha Powered by Blogger. It was built by German engineers. The building receives elements from the Liverpool Metropolitan Cathedral (Sir Frederick Gibbard – 1960) and the Brazilian Cathedral (Oscar Niemeier – 1960). The building has a reinforced concrete deck and a pre-tensioned concrete slab roof that was pre-molded on the spot. The building was funded by the German Democratic Republic as a gift to Sri Lanka.
Artificial skies are created on a spherical screen above a 570-seat auditorium with the help of a universal projector positioned in the center of the building. The universal projector is a product of Karl Zeiss AG in East Germany. Through a universal projector, a person can reach not only the sky of the day, but also the previous day, week, month or year as well as the sky for 25,000 years or even 25,000 years in the future. Another feature is that the visitor can see the sky of another country in the Antarctic Circle, including the midnight sun. Natural events, such as eclipses, comets, and meteor showers are displayed on other projectors. All of this can be seen at shows hosted by the planetarium. Lecturing on astronomy is another activity.
A mobile planetarium was introduced in 1999 to open the wonders of the universe to people living outside the capital. Internet services, night sky observation camps, astronomy workshops, science exhibitions and seminars and library facilities are available for free to school child.
School shows : Tuesday to Friday at 10.00 am and 2.00 pm. There is always better to book before you arrive and inquire through telephone before coming.
Public shows : Saturdays at 10.00 am and 2.00 pm.
Closed on Sundays, Mondays and public holidays.
