Nehru Planetarium is a wonderful place in Bangalore to spend a few hours. All kids and grown-ups with an inquisitive mind will love it. The Planetarium runs shows about our Solar System and beyond, in both English and Kannada. With a 15 meter diameter dome theatre, the night sky comes alive here with more than 2000 stars, even at noon! There is a novel science park outside the theatre where kids can understand the laws of physics while playing.
Where is Nehru Planetarium
Nehru Planetarium is located in Vasant Nagar between Sophia High School and Raj Bhavan.
Nehru Planetarium timings
The show timings are 1230pm, 130pm and 430 pm in English and 1130, 230 and 330 pm in Kannada. No shows are held on Mondays and second Tuesdays. Please call 080 2226 608 to confirm the timing and topic of the show before going.
About Nehru Planetarium
Set up in 1989, the Nehru Planetarium is very popular in Bangalore. Nearly 2 lac visitors come here annually.
Dome Theater
The sky shows on the Dome Theater are the main attraction at Nehru Planetarium. The dome theater has a diameter of 15 meters and is equipped with Space master’ Planetarium projector from Carl-Zeiss. The projector projects a naked eye view of the night sky on the dome.
Two hundred people can watch these shows at a time.
The exhibition hall is a colorful panorama of Photographs, Cartoons, Paintings and Quotations on astronomy. I particularly like the colourful photographs and paintings of distant nebulae.
Science Kiosk
There is a kiosk set up neat the theater where you can buy books, science kits, models, telescopes, and astro-photos.
Check your weight in different planets!
The interplanetary weighing machine kept inside the Dome theater is a fun way to understand the differences between “Mass” and “Weight”. You will get your weight on the Moon and on each of the planets of the solar System!
Science Park
D.N.A., Resonant Swings, Whispering Dishes, Sun Dial, Giant Kaleidoscope are play things you will not usually find in any other park!. One can learn most of the laws of Physics by simply having fun with these artifacts.
There is a model of PSLV rocket in the Science Park and is a big hit with the kids.
Activities at Nehru Planetarium
If you wish to see comets, solar eclipses and planetary transitions, then Nehru Planetarium is the place to be. Not only are telescopes set up for viewing, but the images are also projected in a giant screen for the benefit of the visitors.
Telescope building can be a fun and useful activity. You can get guidance form the members of the Association of Bangalore Amateur Astronomers (ABAA). ABAA meets every Sunday at 6pm.
Night Sky observation and astro-photography on a have a 12″ telescope is possible with ABAA at “Shivanahalli” located 35 KMs from Bangalore.
Students of science can get involved in interesting experiments at the Nehru Planetarium on atmospheric pressure, rocket launch, speedometer, etc. Classes are usually held on weekends between 10.30 AM and 4.30 PM.
“Know your Star” is another exciting activity held at Nehru Planetarium on first Sunday of every month. The session includes a lecture as well as actual star gazing from telescopes.
Did you know?
Bangalore association for Science Education conducts academic programs for BSc students at the Planetarium to help them build a career in scientific research. The Research Education Advancement Programme is run in collaboration with IISC, Indian Institute of Astrophysics and Raman Research Institute and courses offered are Physics, Astrophysics and Biology.
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