The Jesús Emilio Ramírez González Planetarium of Medellín ( es, Planetario Medellín de Jesús Emilio Ramírez González) is a planetarium located in Medellín, Colombia and established on October 10, 1984. It was originally conceived by the Astronomical Society of the College of San José, led at that time by Brother Daniel (Julián González Patiño), a renowned scientist,

astronomer An astronomer is a scientist in the field of astronomy who focuses their studies on a specific question or field outside the scope of Earth. They observe astronomical objects such as stars, planets, moons, comets and galaxies – in either ...

, and botanist. The purpose is that the planetarium is a space for the promotion of scientific and technological culture of citizens and mentality that encourages scientific and technological creativity. The museum is surrounded by a public space known as the Park of Wishes, which was designed by Felipe Uribe de Bedout to coordinate with the planetarium. Medellín was the first South American city to have a computer-controlled planetarium.

History

The planetarium is named after Jess Emilio Ramírez González, a famous Colombian geophysicist. The planetarium is located in an area called the "North Zone" (Zona Norte), which is an

urban sprawl Urban sprawl (also known as suburban sprawl or urban encroachment) is defined as "the spreading of urban developments (such as houses and shopping centers) on undeveloped land near a city." Urban sprawl has been described as the unrestricted growt ...

area north of the city's center. The great socio-political instability of the 1980s and 1990s had an enormous effect on areas like these where people from different strata lived. Insecurity and vandalism drove the observatory, the Botanical Garden of Medellín, and even the

University of Antioquia The University of Antioquia ( es, Universidad de Antioquia), also called UdeA, is a public, departmental, coeducational, research university located primarily in the city of Medellín, Antioquia, Colombia, with regional campuses in Amalfi, Andes ...

to consider relocation for a time. However, a series of urban interventions at the end of the 1990s—including a University stop on the

Medellín Metro The Medellín Metro (Spanish language, Spanish: ''Metro de Medellín'') is a rapid transit system that crosses the Metropolitan Area of Medellín from North to South and from Centre to West. It first opened for service on 30 November 1995. As one ...

—prevented the closure of the three areas and helped to reconstitute the area.

Renovations

It was renovated in 2006 and comprises the largest recreational area, science and technology city, in the North Zone. In its vicinity are located North Park,

Parque Explora Parque Explora is an interactive science museum in Medellín, Colombia, loosely modeled after San Francisco's Exploratorium. It houses South America's largest freshwater aquarium, Explora Aquarium. The museum contains over 300 interactive attract ...

, the Park of Wishes and several major units of the

. Since 2011, with support from the Mayor of Medellin,

Bancolombia Bancolombia S.A. (also known as Grupo Bancolombia; formerly: Banco de Colombia) is a full-service financial institution that provides financial products and services in Colombia, Panama, El Salvador, Puerto Rico, the Cayman Islands The Ca ...

, and various astronomical communities of the city, Parque Explora developed a project to renovate the planetarium. The core of this transformation was a new scientific visualization center. The first floor, open access for visitors, consists of an auditorium with capacity for 200 people, a library specializing in science literacy, and a store with items and souvenirs on astronomy and a café.

Gallery

References

External links

* Museums in Medellín Planetaria in Colombia Science museums 1984 establishments in Colombia {{Colombia-stub