Birla Planetarium is a signature architecture of Kolkata. Birla planetarium or Birla Taramondal is famous for interesting and informative shows, that conducted on the roof of a big dome. Planetarium adds an extra feather on the crown of the city of joy for its iconic design. Birla planetarium mainly conducted shows about space science, astronomy, astrophysics, and the whole universe also. The design of this iconic structure adopted from Buddhist Stupa at Sanchi.
Birla Planetarium, Kolkata is the largest planetarium in Asia and the second largest planetarium in the world. .There is total 688 seat capacity in Birla Planetarium. The diameter of the dome is 23 meters. There is another two Birla planetarium in Chennai and Hyderabad.
History and fetchers of Birla Planetarium
Birla planetarium was inaugurated on 2nd July 1963 by Jawaharlal Nehru the former prime minister of India. This planetarium was constructed by ML Dalmiya & Co. There is an electronics laboratory for the design of science equipment. Birla planetarium offers various kinds of updated knowledge about astronomy and universe.one can see huge Various collection of satellite and telescope modes inside this planetarium such as Kosmos-3M launch vehicle (Aryabhata), ST6 CCD camera, etc. It conducted an M.phil course on Astronomy and Planetarium Sciences. Birla planetarium conducted this course by collaborating with BITS (Birla Institute of Technology and Science) In addition. They provide many free courses through all over the year.
Fore renovation planetarium closes down for a long time. On 18th July 2017 planetarium re-opens after 28 months with some special fetchers. Planetarium authority works a lot on the video display system on the dome. The planetarium renovated with the most advanced system ZEISS Hybrid Projection System. VELVET digital video system is now used to the projection on the full dome. Besides this, many upgraded technical fetchers added through this renovation work. The whole work of upgradations was done by Garman company Carl Zeiss AG.
Show schedules
Birla planetarium organized Many shows in different regions language like English, Bengali, Hindi in every day. Regular shows mainly conducted on ‘Rashis and Nakshatras’, ‘journey to Antarctica’, and ‘New View of the Solar System’.
The timings and schedule of the Birla planetarium for the show are the following:
- In the Bengali Language: 03:30 PM, 05:30 PM
- English language: 01:30 PM, 06:30 PM
- Hindi language : 12:30PM ,02:30PM,04:30PM
Extra show: Sunday and government holidays at 11:30 AM (Bengali)
Birla Planetarium Entry fees
The fee structure to visit Birla Planetarium is as follows:
- 100 INR per person above 3 years
- On requesting 40 INR per student for a group of 25 or more.
- counter tickets are available half an hour before the show. Online booking site provides online ticket booking facilities.
Location of Birla planetarium
Birla planetarium is situated at 96, Jawaharlal Nehru Road, West Bengal 700071. The nearest landmark is st. pauls cathedral and Victoriya memorial hall.
How to reach?
you can easily rich Birla planetarium through metro or high way. The nearest metro station is Maidan. It’s just about 2 minutes walking distance from Maidan metro station. The nearest airport DumDum airport is just 18 kilometer in distance.
Route map : Sealdah ➡ Dum Dum jn. ( via raiway) ➡ Dum Dum metro station➡ Maidan Metro station ➡ Birla planetarium
Otherwise, you can take a bus from sealdah. It easily reaches you in front of the Birla planetarium. The ticket price is around 7- 10 rupees.7D and C1A are two major public buses that run on this route from sealdah station.
