On October 15, 1980, the planetarium was dedicated and welcomed its first guests as a part of the Mine Measurement Base, a collaboration between three organizations:

Ostrava-Karviná Mines, the Mining University, and the Ostrava National Committee.

The observatory and planetarium were included into the Mining and Geology Faculty of the Mining University's Institute of Geodesy and Mining Measurement in 1994. The "Johann Palisa Observatory and Planetarium" moniker was adopted in October 2000. The structure and its immediate environs underwent a comprehensive renovation in 2014. Planetarium Ostrava has been included as a name change as well.

The Ostrava Planetarium became an autonomous department under the Faculty of Mining and Geology of the University of Science and Technology on April 1, 2018, when it withdrew from the Institute of Geodesy and Mining Surveying.