The new Peter Harrison Planetarium at Greenwich Royal Observatory in London will open on 25 May.

The 120-seat attraction will provide views of the night sky using advanced digital laser projectors, which will be presented by astronomers working at the Royal Observatory.

Named after entrepreneur Peter Harrison, who donated £3m to the project, the planetarium will be housed in a new 45 tonne, patinated, bronze-clad cone.

London architects Allies and Morrison designed the planetarium to point at the Pole Star.

A refurbished Victorian building originally used to house the New Physical Observatory for astronomical research at Greenwich will offer three interactive Weller Astronomy Galleries as well as a Lloyd’s Register Educational Trust Learning Centre to help visitors understand how and why space is investigated.

The Royal Observatory’s project astronomer, Professor Paul Murdin, said: “The new galleries, learning centre and planetarium focus on important national objectives, to inspire and motivate young people to be interested in science for their own greater fulfilment and for the better future of the UK.”

Four space galleries exploring modern astronomy and time – called Time and Longitude, Time and Greenwich, Time for the Navy and Time in Society – opened at the end of phase one in February 2006.

The overall £16m redevelopment of the Royal Observatory was funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF); Peter Harrison Foundation; Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS); Lloyd’s Register Educational Trust; Garfield Weston Foundation; Science and Technology Facilities Council; Millennium Commission; Wolfson Foundation; Weller Settlement Fund; Sir John Fisher Foundation; Basil Samuel Charitable Trust; Accurist and donations made through the museum’s Universal Appeal launched in 2004. Details: www.nmm.ac.uk