Come on a journey of scientific knowledge, explore the space or even the smallest atom! We would like to invite you on a tour of planetariums, science centres and other interactive science museums where fun comes hand in hand with learning. Find out how the human eye works, why the sky is blue, or what a red dwarf is. Or would you rather explore the mystery of black holes? The planetariums and science centres are ready to answer any questions about science! You can find Czech science centres and planetariums – the places where learning is fun – in Prague, Brno, Hradec Králové, Liberec, Olomouc, Ostrava and Plzeň. Each one is different, but they all offer an unusual experience.
Planetum – A Unique Planetarium in Prague
The Prague planetarium, Planetum, is located in the Stromovka park and its cupola makes it one of the largest planetariums in the world. Up to 210 people can fit comfortably under the cupola with a diameter of 23 m to watch the space projection with a unique resolution of 8K. You can watch stars in Planetum whether it is night or day, a sunny or rainy day. In addition, you can watch films projected onto the sky that surrounds you all around. The advantage of the planetarium is that although the programme is mostly in Czech, you can borrow headphones with English dabbing on request.
Štefánik’s Observatory at Petřín in Prague
The observatory at Petřín in Prague was built at the beginning of the twentieth century, but its main purpose has remained unchanged for a century. Its mission is to popularise astronomy and related sciences. The most interesting that the observatory offers are public observations of day and night sky using large telescopes, which take place all year round when the weather permits. In addition to the observations, you can also check out the observatory equipment, the permanent exposition focusing on astronomy, or the museum of meteorites where you can even touch some of the meteorites!Vida! Science Theme Park and Planetarium in Brno
Touching exhibits is mandatory! That’s the basic advice when visiting the Brno VIDA! science theme park in South Moravia, on the premises of the Brno Fairgrounds. Over 175 interactive exhibits are waiting to be explored by you and your curious children, to better understand the world around us and to explain the basic principles of natural phenomena. You will explore about the earthquake plate, X-ray eyes, an ocean in a bottle, a model of the human heart, an ant society or archaeological sandpit. All of that is accompanied by other things – shows full of science experiments, 3D film projections or workshops for families with children. The exhibit legends are available in English and German.
The Brno Planetarium near the city centre offers science films as well as computer-made real sky and astronomic shows. You can also look under the water surface, inside a human body, the near future or the past, the micro-world or macrocosm. The adjacent exploration room has an exposition on the World of Nebulas. Immerse yourselves in the world of radiant gas and dust that accompany stars from birth to death. You will be literally absorbed by images of the most beautiful space nebulas, taken by the largest astronomic devices. A programme in English is available by prior arrangement, as well as headphones with English dabbing.
Ostrava Observatory and Planetarium
The observatory and the third largest planetarium in the Czech Republic is located on the west edge of Ostrava in Silesia. Today, the planetarium is managed by the local technical university, and it offers seminars, projections and music programmes below an artificial starry sky. The planetarium has been reconstructed recently, so the hall now has comfortable seats, a new projection cupola and projection technology known as hybrid planetarium. It consists of two digital data projectors with opto-mechanical projection system. Thanks to the equipment, the night sky in the hall is darker than the usual in today’s electrified world, and the all-around sky projection in the hall with a cupola instead of a ceiling will make you think you are in the middle of the space.
Ostrava Science and Technology Centre
The Ostrava science centre in Dolní Vítkovice focuses on popularisation of sciences that are traditional in the region. The whole exposition consists of two parts, and it is unique as its smaller part can be found in a historical industrial building. Genius loci provided! The main building offers four permanent interactive expositions to visitors: the Children’s World, the World of Science and Inventions, the World of Civilisation and the World of Nature. There is also a 3D cinema with a huge screen and the Theatre of Science where you get to experience science first-hand. The legends are available in English and Polish, and the service of an English guide is available by prior arrangement.
iQlandia Science Centre and Planetarium
The modern science centre in Liberec in North Bohemia offers a day-long programme not only for children, even though the centre focuses on them. Explore more than 400 interactive exhibits in ten expositions and learn how the inventions we use daily work or experience a real earthquake on a simulator. iQLandia also has a planetarium, called iQPlanetarium, with a capacity of 50 people. It shows documentaries about space, astronautics and sciences. Each projection is accompanied by information on the current events in the sky. The centre is barrier-free with few exceptions, and it has its own car park, restaurant and the iQshop with souvenirs. You can book an English or German guide.
Hradec Králové Observatory and Planetarium
The Hradec Králové Observatory and Planetarium is located in the south edge of Hradec Králové, the centre of East Bohemia. Besides the regular observations of the night sky, the Sun or other interesting celestial bodies, when the weather permits, or demonstrations of telescopes and descriptions of the starry sky in the planetarium, the observatory also offers interesting seminars, exhibitions or programmes with an astronomical story for children. And what about the planetarium? There is a round hall with a tilted auditorium at its centre. The special projection area is shaped as a half-sphere and the digital projection system covers its entire surface using several projectors. You can enjoy a special projection of a starry sky or videos from all kinds of scientific fields of human knowledge. And what languages do they speak? If you let them know in advance, they will provide an English-speaking guide.
Techmania Science Centre in Plzeň
The Techmania science centre is located in Plzeň in West Bohemia. Experiment and learn how the world around us works using all your senses! But the interactive exhibits are not only toys. Each one explains something about the natural phenomena and laws, or a human activity. You will find out that physics can be fun, and that film is a science. The expositions are divided into several parts, such as the Engineer where you learn how science improves our everyday life, or People and Animals, which is an interactive exposition that focuses on the senses, the construction and performance of human and animal body, or Film Play, an exposition on film and television work for older children. And there are many more expositions available! No-one can get bored in Techmania Plzeň. English and German tours of expositions are available.
Fort Science In Olomouc
The architecturally unique building with a wooden frame located in Moravia, on the premises of the Olomouc Korunní pevnůstka, an artillery depot that used to be a part of a bastion fort 150 years ago. Today, the Fort Scienceis a sanctuary for science and informal education. There are four interactive expositions with dozens of original exhibits made in the local workshops. There is also a place for fun chemical and physical experiments or an art workshop where you or your children can make a volcano or the solar system. We recommend making arrangements for an English guided tour in advance.
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