06 Nov 2017
World's highest planetarium coming to Tibet's Museum of Natural Sciences
BY Tom Anstey
Plans have been unveiled in China to build the world’s highest planetarium – set to open at the Tibet Museum of Natural Sciences in 2019.
Dubbed “the roof of the world”, the museum in the provincial capital of Lhasa, sits 4,000m (13,123ft) above sea level, passing through the three permanent exhibition halls of the Natural Science Museum, the Science Museum and the Cultural Exhibition Hall. It also features a theatre and multimedia facilities.
According to the Tibet Autonomous Region Government, which owns the museum, the planetarium will become a major regional base not only for astronomical research but also public science education.
At its core, the planetarium will feature the region’s largest telescope, which will be jointly developed by the planetarium and the National Astronomical Observatories.
"With the highest altitude in the world, the planetarium will become a perfect window for the public to get to know the stars and explore the universe,” said Wang Junjie, deputy head of the Science and Technology Department of Tibet, speaking to state-run media agency Xinhua. “This will be thanks to little air pollution or light pollution in the region."
Designed by Chinese firm Cendes and French-based Architecture Studio, the Tibet Museum of Natural Sciences opened in 2015, offering the region a modern, sustainable and cultural project on an international scale.
Integrating sustainable building features, the museum includes high-performance insulation, a facade shading system, solar panels, solar thermal, natural ventilation and biodiversity landscaping.
The planetarium is not the only major attraction under development in Tibet, with plans unveiled last year for a US$6.4m (€5.5m, £4.9m) museum celebrating Mount Everest. Built over five storeys and displaying fossils collected from the mountain, as well as animal and plant specimens, the Everest museum is due to open in late 2018.
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