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Planetarium in for major facelift in 2015
View(s):The Planetarium situated at Stanley Wijesundara Mawatha, Colombo 7, opened as part of the 1965 Industrial Exhibition, is to get a major facelift in 2015.
These will include the renovation of the Planetarium, as well as the installation of adjustable chairs for visitors, adjustment to the existing universal projector, while the construction of an Exploratorium is also mooted, according to the Ministry of Technology & Research.
Up to September this year, the Planetarium hosted 163,865 visitors, while 8 Night sky observation camps were held, along with 23 Mobile Planetarium presentations.
The other programmes planned for 2015 include a workshop for the inventors to develop their Entrepreneurship and Business skills, set up a Division to support Patent application drafting and prior art search, a Sri Lanka Inventions Pavilion at the Geneva International Exhibition, as well as provide grants from the Inventors’ Fund to facilitate inventors find markets and technological fulfillment of their inventions.
The Planetarium, while being popular among schoolchildren, aims to provide students with a better understanding of Astronomy, as they sit comfortably and gaze upon the wonders of the Universe.