The Planetarium

Hello friends, my name is Aloka and this is my naughty but nice dog Pippin. He goes with me everywhere and we have wonderful adventures together. Do you like looking at the stars? On our beautiful island in the sun, we have plenty of starry tropical night

Sri Lanka's first and only planetarium is located on the grounds of the University of Colombo campus, just off a road named Prof. Stanley Wijesundara Mawatha. The planetarium was established on 1st February 1965 by the State Engineering Corporation as a special feature for the Ceylon Industrial Exhibition held in Colombo during that time. It was designed by Mr. A. A. N. S Kulasinghe, who was at that time the chief engineer of the State Engineering Corporation. It is extremely unique in style and architecture. Getting inspiration from two types of architecture in Liverpool and Basil, the planetarium is uniquely styled like a lotus in full bloom. The building has a reinforced concrete floor and a pre-stressed concrete folded plate roof, which was pre-cast on-site [The building was funded by the German Democratic Republic as a gift to Ceylon at that time]. Considering how old the planetarium is, it finally got a make-over in 2014, and now has increased to hold a capacity of 570 seats. The planetarium boasts a new 4D/digital full dome projector which displays the universe in all its glory. Visitors are able to take a tour of the galaxy. They can marvel at the night sky as it appears from another country. Be witnesses to the midnight sun from the Arctic Circle. Other marvelous oddities such as solar eclipses, meteor showers, comets, and various other celestial events are all brought closer to the interested visitors. The planetarium also hosts various science exhibitions, workshops and fairs. Until 2015, the planetarium had a stellar attraction in the form of Christie Pillai, who had been a lecturer right throughout. With a lot of knowledge, he had worked closely with Science fiction writer Arthur C. Clarke. If you are in the mood for an out of this world experience, then whiz on by to the Planetarium at the University grounds, shows are 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., Tuesday to Saturday!