Location: No. 96, Jawaharlal Nehru Road, Kolkata
Asia’s largest planetarium with a capacity of over 500 visitors, the MP Birla Planetarium in Kolkata is a legendary attraction of the city. With the iconic Victoria Memorial and St Paul’s Cathedral located in its vicinity, the planetarium sets a distinctive impression on its visitors with its unique Buddhist stupa-like architecture and technological wonders. Birla Planetarium was inaugurated by Pt. Jawaharlal Nehru on 2 July 1963 who was then the Prime Minister of India.
The key highlights of this must-see place in Kolkata are as mentioned:
- A unique collection of astronomical paintings and models crafted by great astronomers is on display in the astronomy gallery.
- An astonishing astronomical observatory that will impress you with over 100 projects related to astronomy, space science and its well equipped Celestron C-14 telescope!
- Special shows and programmes are conducted in various languages on a daily basis.
- The planetarium also has an electronics laboratory.
Presently, the planetarium is undergoing renovation with the installation of state-of-the-art machines. Thereafter it will host a complete new range of shows, which have never been seen before in any planetarium in India.
Show Details
The planetarium is open on all days and the shows are conducted everyday. The timings for the shows in different languages are as follows:
Hindi – 12.30pm, 2:30 pm and 4.30pm
English – 3.30pm and 5.30pm
Bengali – 1.30pm and 6.30pm
Special shows are also conducted on Sundays and Holidays at 10.30am in Hindi and at 11.30am in Bengali. Occasionally the shows are also conducted in other languages like Gujarati, Oriya and Tamil. Bookings open 30 minutes before the show starts. The price for the ticket is Rs. 40 per person.
Birla Planetarium is crowded on holidays and weekends. Spare an hour for this one of its kind experience on your visit to the City of Joy, Kolkata. Birla Planetariums exist in other cities as well, such as Hyderabad and Chennai.
Please note that making video recordings or taking photographs is strictly prohibited inside the planetarium.
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