World’s Largest Planetarium to Open this Month

Due to be unveiled after five years of construction, the Shanghai Astronomy Museum will open on 18 July.

Occasionally referred to as the Shanghai Planetarium, the Shanghai Astronomy Museum will cover an area of approximately 38,000sq m and is a branch of the Shanghai Science and Technology Museum. SHINE has reported that the Shanghai Astronomy Museum’s official website and WeChat account have been launched ahead of the opening later in the month.

The upcoming museum will be home to an Ultra HD dome theatre, digital sky theatre, education and research centre and IMAX theatre, as well as permanent and temporary exhibit galleries, a solar telescope and an observatory.

“The majority of astronomy museums in the world are about 20,000sq m, so this is arguably the largest in the world,” said Lin Qing, Director of the museum’s research centre. “It will be able to host visits by around 6,000 people a day,” Qing added. “We’re also looking forward to working with other museums around the world of popularisation of astronomy.”