It is the first and only planetarium in the country and maintained as an institute under the Ministry of Science, Technology and Research.

[2] The Planetarium was established on 1 February 1965 by the State Engineering Corporation as a special feature for the Ceylon industrial exhibition held in Colombo same year.

[citation needed] The building was refurbished in 2014 at a cost of Rs 200 million and re-opened to the public on 9 December.

[7] The planetarium has a digital fully-spherical projector stationed at the centre of the building, which projects an artificial sky on the 23 m (75 ft) diameter dome above a 570-seat auditorium.

[8] The universal projector is a product of Carl Zeiss AG East Germany.