What does planetarium mean?
Word: Planetarium
Part of Speech: Noun
Meaning: Planetarium means a building with a curved ceiling on which pictures of the night sky are shown, so that people can learn about space.
How do you spell planetarium?
Syllables: plan - e - tar - i - um
Tricky part: The ending is arium, with an a, not erium. Students who hear only a weak vowel write planeterium.
Watch out for: planeterium, planetorium
Memory tip: Fish live in an aquarium and stars shine in a planetarium: both places end in arium.
Planetarium in a sentence
Example 1: Our class trip to the planetarium showed us the sky over the Sahara.
Example 2: Inside the planetarium, the dome turned dark and thousands of stars appeared.
Example 3: Tanvi wants to work at a planetarium when she grows up.
Fun Fact
The Birla Planetarium in Kolkata, opened in 1963, is one of the largest planetariums in Asia.
Practise the CREST Way
Mingle-Mangle
Form a meaningful word from the jumbled letters:
nripautlmea
a) terminal
b) aquarium
c) planetarium
d) parliament
Show answer
c) planetarium. Parliament is very close but has no u; aquarium needs a q and terminal is far too short.
Spell-o-Spell
Choose the correctly spelt word:
a) planetarium
b) constelation
c) asteriod
d) metior
Show answer
a) planetarium. Meteor ends in eor, constellation has a double l and asteroid ends in oid.
Word Cookie
Insert the correct pair of letters to form a word:
pl_n_tarium
a) e,e
b) a,i
c) a,e
d) a,a
Show answer
c) a,e. The first part names Earth, Mars and the rest, with an a and then an e.
Word Cookie
Find the extra letter in the word:
plannetarium
a) e
b) a
c) t
d) n
Show answer
d) n. There is one n in planetarium, never two.
Multiple Choice Questions
1. What do you mainly see during a planetarium show?
a) fish swimming in tanks
b) the night sky shown on a dome
c) animals in open enclosures
d) old coins in glass cases
Show answer
b) the night sky shown on a dome
2. Why is a planetarium's ceiling shaped like a dome?
a) so rain slides off it
b) so sound travels faster
c) so it looks like the sky overhead
d) so it is cheaper to build
Show answer
c) so it looks like the sky overhead
