It’s an old story apparently, but I’ve only just read this terrible news:
The stars at one of central London’s well-known tourist attractions will go dark for good this July. Madame Tussauds waxworks, the owner of the London Planetarium, has decided to close the facility as the company shifts its focus from science education to entertainment. The planetarium (renamed the Auditorium) will soon replace its shows with programs about celebrities.
It’s bad enough that it’s closing. But it’s a sad comment on society that they are replacing it with “programs about celebrities”.
When I was young a trip to the Planetarium was a real treat. I was spellbound by their presentations. It’s a shame that children won’t get that opportunity in the future. We should be encouraging interest in science, not killing it off.
This has made me very depressed.
More from the Times, the Guardian and the BBC. Oh and here’s Lucy Mangan’s reaction.
The London Planetarium is/was excellent.
So, you might say they are replacing stars with stars. heh. ahem.
When was the last time you went?
Actually I’ve been in the last five years or so. We went to Tussauds and the Planetarium. It was a bit of a nightmare to be honest. We queued for hours for ridiculously expensive tickets and then when we got in it far too overcrowded to enjoy it.The time before that was some time in the early 80s when they used to do laser shows to the music of Pink Floyd and people like that.