The renovated planetarium of the Heureka Science Centre will open on Boxing Day 26.12.2025

After a complete renovation that lasted over a year, the Heureka Planetarium will open on Boxing Day, December 26, 2025. The planetarium has undergone the biggest transformation in its history. Its interior, projection dome and presentation technology have been renovated to meet today's expectations and standards. The Heureka Planetarium is now one of the brightest, most colorful and detailed presentation environments in Europe.

Opened in 1989, Heureka's Verne Theatre was a pioneer in planetarium technology. In 2006–2007, the super cinema was converted into a digital planetarium. Now, Heureka's planetarium has undergone an even greater transformation, as its projection dome, presentation technology, interior and building services have been completely renovated. The diameter of the projection dome is now 18 meters and its projection surface is 710 m². The number of seats has also increased from the previous 134 to 146 seats, plus two wheelchair spaces and six assistant spaces.

The renovation project, totaling approximately 5.6 million euros, received a special grant of 2 million euros from the Ministry of Education and Culture in 2022. The project has been implemented together with the French planetarium supplier RSA Cosmos and the construction company NCC. In the renovated planetarium, the public will be able to enjoy image quality with many times better resolution and light output compared to the previous planetarium system. The image resolution will be over 10K, so the number of pixels will be approximately six times higher compared to the previous 4K resolution.

Heureka Planetarium is now one of five planetariums in Europe offering 10K resolution. The image will be projected onto the dome using 12 laser projectors. In addition, the renovated projection dome is visually seamless, so the immersion in the planetarium is significantly better. The light output has also taken a huge step forward. In addition to the image technology, the sound reproduction in the planetarium will be improved, as the traditional 5.1-channel surround sound will be switched to a modern surround sound speaker system with speakers all around the dome.

The accessibility of the planetarium has also been improved. Special attention has been paid to lighting and the placement of wheelchair spaces. The planetarium's stairs and walkways have been made more accessible. Films spoken in Finnish can be listened to in Swedish, English and plain Finnish using headphones. It is also possible to use personal induction loops in the space, and for those who need subtitles, this is made possible with the help of AR glasses that can be borrowed.
 

Three new films in the planetarium's programme that offer experiences for different ages:

Asteroid Quest tells in a fascinating way how we study asteroids with probes. The film teaches about asteroids, their secrets, and how scientists learn how to steer asteroids out of their orbits to prevent catastrophic collisions. The film is a 10K version tailored specifically for the Heureka planetarium. Recommended age limit 10 years.

The Stellars – Mission: Green is an interactive animated film aimed especially at elementary school children. The film combines a space adventure, humour and a message of environmental protection. The story explores what the forest needs to function. This film has also been adapted for Heureka's planetarium as a 10K version.

Recombination is the latest fulldome work by Dutch fractal artist Julius Horsthuis. The film immerses itself in infinite fractal landscapes that reveal the endless complexity and beauty of mathematics. The stunning visual world is enhanced by a soundtrack composed by world-class artists. Art films aimed especially at adults are screened on Thursday and Friday evenings during extended opening hours, among other things.

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