The Planetarium established in 1965, was a special feature of the Industrial Exhibition held in Colombo that year. Designed by renowned Engineer Dr. A.N.S. Kulasinghe, its inner dome, taking the shape of a lotus in full bloom, was constructed by Engineers from Germany. The artificial sky where one could glimpse the night sky during day time is created on a domed screen above an auditorium which could seat 500 visitors. Through a colossal universal projector one could view not only the day’s sky but also the sky of the previous day, week, month or year, and even that of the sky dating back to 25,000 years or up to 25,000 years in the future. An added feature is that a visitor could also view the sky of another country, including the mid night sun of a country in the Antarctic Circle. Natural occurrences such as solar eclipses, comets and meteor showers are displayed through other projectors. All this could be viewed at shows conducted by the Planetarium. Delivery of lectures on astronomy is another activity. In 1999, a Mobile Planetarium was introduced to open some of the wonders of the universe, to those living outside the capital city. Other services offered free of charge are internet facilities for school children, night sky observation camps, astronomy workshops, science exhibitions and seminars and library facilities for reference. The Planetarium will soon be upgraded with the installation of a 4D/Digital full dome projector to project the universe as a 3D space. Show times : Tuesday to Saturday at 10.00 a.m. and 2. 00 p.m.