The Sri Lanka Planetarium in Colombo, the capital of Sri Lanka is the first and only planetarium in the country. The Planetarium was inaugurated on 1 February 1965 as part of the Ceylon Industrial Exhibition. Today, the planetarium offers educational and other astronomical shows for science enthusiasts. It is maintained as an institution under the Ministry of Science, Technology, and Research.
The first thing you see about the Sri Lanka Planetarium in Colombo is its interesting and strangely familiar architecture. Chief Engineer of the State Engineering Corporation of Sri Lanka N. The. Designed by Kulasinghe, it is built in the shape of a lotus flower. Because he wanted it to be like a lotus flower if for some reason you were flying over it. It was borrowed from two famous buildings on different continents: the Cathedral of Liverpool Metropolitan by Sir Frederick Gibbard and the Cathedral of Brasilia Oscar Niemeyer. The building has a reinforced concrete floor and a pre-stressed concrete bent slab roof that was previously positioned. The building was gifted to Sri Lanka by the Democratic Republic of Germany.
After much-needed repairs in 2014, the planetarium now has 570 more seats than its main spheric, and a new 4D / digital full-spherical projector illuminates the universe in all its glory. It is 100 feet high, has 32 pillars (or lotus petals), and is made of pre-cast ships shipped from Singapore. You can explore the galaxy, see the night sky from another country, marvel at the midnight sunrise from the Arctic Circle and the eclipses, meteor showers, comets, and other celestial events. The planetarium also regularly hosts science fairs, workshops, and seminars.
[envira-gallery id=”4032″]Another highlight of the planetarium from its inception until 2015 was Christie Pillai, who served as a lecturer from the beginning. Pillay passed away in 2015 but remains a legend in the Sri Lanka Planetarium. He was not only a very popular, entertaining, and knowledgeable member of the planetarium staff but also a former science-fiction writer, Arthur C. He was also the Secretary of the Sri Lanka Astronomical Society, founded by Clark.
There is a lot of greenery all over the planetarium, it has big trees, shrubs, and unbroken grass, and random concrete benches. The Sri Lanka Planetarium is located on the campus of the University of Colombo, just off the road to Professor Stanley Wijesundaran Mawatha. Exhibitions are usually held from Tuesday to Saturday. Held at 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. In March 2018, the Planetarium will start hosting free shows on Sundays, but it is best to confirm in advance. The average ticket price is less than the US $ 1.
