National Planetarium

The National Planetarium is Malaysia's national planetarium. It is a blue-domed building on a hill in the Lake Gardens at Jalan Perdana, Kuala Lumpur. It covers about 120,000 square feet (11,000 m²). The National Planetarium began as the Planetarium Division in the Prime Minister's Department in 1989. Construction of the planetarium, then called the National Space and Science Education Centre, started in 1990 and finished in 1993. It cost RM 24 million, with the Japanese government donating RM 5 million. A soft launch to the public happened in May 1993. It was officially opened by Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad on 7 February 1994. In July 1995, the Division moved to the Ministry of Science, Technology, and the Environment, which still owns the planetarium. References