The Birla Planetarium, also known as MP Birla Planetarium or ‘Taramandal’ is the biggest planetarium in India. It was formally inaugurated by Pandit Jawahar Lal Nehru on 2 July 1963. It is situated at Chowringhee Road.
The museum was started to promote astronomy, its teaching, and research. At present, the planetarium offers free evening courses on astronomy and a Post Graduate Diploma Course in Astronomy and Planetarium.
The architecture of Birla Planetarium is reminiscent of the Buddhist Stupa, Sanchi. It is a single-storey circular building constructed by ML Dalmiya and Co. It has a 23-meter-high dome and 570 reclining seats.
At the observatory stands the powerful Celestron C-14 telescope, with cameras (ST6 CCD) and sun filters. The planetarium also houses an electronic laboratory and an astronomical gallery.
The The Birla Planetarium hosts daily hourly shows in three languages — Bengali, English, and Hindi. They also conduct shows in Odia, Tamil, and Gujarati, albeit occasionally.