Birmingham’s first Planetarium is to open to the public on 17 December as the central part of a £2m upgrade of the Thinktank science museum at Millennium Point.

The digital Planetarium will seat up to 70 visitors per show with reclined seating, Digistar 3 technology and additional room for four wheelchairs, under a projection dome stretching 32.8ft (10m) in diameter.

The fully hemispheric attraction will offer visitors a selection of science-led shows based on astronomy and the life sciences. It will join the IMAX cinema and a number of other organisations at Millennium Point including one of Thinktank’s education partners, the UCE’s Technology Innovation Centre.

Dr Nick Winterbotham, chief executive of Millennium Point and Thinktank, said: “Our new Planetarium will bring a dramatic new experience to the people of Birmingham and the west Midlands. Birmingham has waited for this for at least 80 years, since the founding of the Lunar Society. We are confident that the wait will have been worthwhile.”

Further improvements to Thinktank will include the opening of a new-look Futures gallery and a commitment to bring a major, temporary, touring exhibition to the science museum every year from Spring 2006. Details: www.thinktank.ac