The National Planetarium ( fil, Pambansang Planetaryo), also known as the National Museum Planetarium (shortened as NM Planetarium), was a planetarium owned and operated by the

National Museum of the Philippines The National Museum of the Philippines ( fil, Pambansang Museo ng Pilipinas}) is an umbrella government organization that oversees a number of national museums in the Philippines including ethnographic, anthropological, archaeological, and vis ...

Manila Manila ( , ; fil, Maynila, ), officially the City of Manila ( fil, Lungsod ng Maynila, ), is the capital of the Philippines, and its second-most populous city. It is highly urbanized and, as of 2019, was the world's most densely populate ...

. It was a dome located in

Rizal Park Rizal Park ( fil, Liwasang Rizal, es, link=no, Parque Rizal), also known as Luneta Park or simply Luneta, is a historic urban park located in Ermita, Manila. It is considered one of the largest urban parks in the Philippines, covering an are ...

between the Japanese Garden and Chinese Garden on

Padre Burgos Avenue Padre Burgos Avenue, also known as Padre Burgos Street, is a 14-lane thoroughfare in Manila, Philippines. The road was named after Jose Burgos, one of the martyred priests who were executed at the nearby Bagumbayan Field (present-day Riz ...

in the central district of

Ermita Ermita is a district in Manila, Philippines. Located at the central part of the city, the district is a significant center of finance, education, culture, and commerce. Ermita serves as the civic center of the city, bearing the seat of city ...

. It opened on October 8, 1975.

History

The building of a space museum in Rizal Park was proposed by Philippine Weather Bureau chief and Philippine Astronomical Society founder Maximo Sacro Jr. to National Museum Director Godofredo Alcasid Sr. in 1970. It was presented to then National Parks and Development Committee chair and First Lady

Imelda Marcos Imelda Romualdez Marcos (; born Imelda Remedios Visitacion Trinidad Romualdez; July 2, 1929) is a Filipino politician who served as the First Lady of the Philippines from 1965 to 1986, wielding significant political power during the dictato ...

who approved the project and immediately instructed the Bureau of Public Works to prepare plans for the building. Construction of the building began in 1974 with help from Japanese engineers. The planetarium cost US$100,000 to build with funding provided by the Japanese government as part of its war reparation to the Philippines. Presidential Decree No. 804-A was signed by then President Ferdinand Marcos on September 30, 1975 which formally established the National Planetarium. The building was formally inaugurated on October 8, 1975 with Maximo Sacro Jr. as its first curator. The National Planetarium was closed in late 2018 and was reopened in January 2019 after two months of renovation. It was closed from April 2020 until July 2021 due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...

. The planetarium's closure was announced on October 11, 2021 to give way for the "decommissioning" of the planetarium building. The administration also disclosed that a plan for a "new National Planetarium" is under development. As of 2022, the former National Planetarium building currently houses headquarters of the

National Parks Development Committee The National Parks Development Committee (NPDC) is an agency of the Department of Tourism of the Philippines that is mandated to develop, preserve, and manage Rizal Park Luneta and Paco Park in Manila and other parks that may be assigned to it. ...

, the government agency attached to the Department of Tourism with the mandate of administering Rizal Park, where the national planetarium structure is located.

Museum exhibits and facilities

The National Planetarium was high and had a seating capacity of 310. It was equipped with a GM-15-S Goto starball projector acquired in 1975. It featured four daily regular shows and a permanent exhibit in the main building featuring paintings of Philippine astronomical myths and beliefs and diorama representations of the

Solar System The Solar System Capitalization of the name varies. The International Astronomical Union, the authoritative body regarding astronomical nomenclature, specifies capitalizing the names of all individual astronomical objects but uses mixed "Solar ...

, major

constellations A constellation is an area on the celestial sphere in which a group of visible stars forms a perceived pattern or outline, typically representing an animal, mythological subject, or inanimate object. The origins of the earliest constellation ...

and astronomists. In 2012, the National Planetarium had more than 40,000 visitors, mostly students from Metro Manila and nearby provinces. Its exhibition drew over 2,000 visitors.

References

{{Rizal Park Planetaria in the Philippines Buildings and structures in Ermita Buildings and structures completed in 1975 Museums in Manila Tourist attractions in Manila 1975 establishments in the Philippines National Museum of the Philippines Establishments by Philippine presidential decree