Today we headed to DeltaWorks, which is a museum and educational tourist attraction. DeltaWorks is a project that was created to prevent future flooding after the Watersnood museum, which tragically killed over 1,800 people. The government ordered this project to create dams and raise the dikes. They did so by creating 65 piers which act as a wall to prevent flooding from the North Sea, and are also used as a highway.

To begin the day there, we started off with an informational video about how why they created the piers and how the flooding can become so extreme. I learned from the video and our tour guide that due to storms that turn to hurricanes. This is commonly because of high winds and low pressure. He told us how the macheinery itself works. There are steel plates that are lowered when the tides are high, and about 5-6 hours later, specifically during testing, the plates are lifted again. This is crucial for the marine life.

The most interesting part of the day for me was the Delta Experience. What I thought was going to be similar to the Haunted Mansion at Kennywood, was an immersive experience that made us feel like we were at the flood in 1953. We saw the family moving the sandbags, how they saved their kid from the flood, and what the destruction looked like. I originally thought DeltaWorks was going to be a repeat of the Watersnood museum, but I was pleasantly surprised at how much I learned, and intricate engineering practices used to make this project a success.

I found it fascinating to learn about the structures of the piers themselves. There were countless layers on the bottom to ensure stability. They used iron, sand, rocks, concrete, and mats to keep the sand from eroding. As a business major, I know basically nothing about engineering, but what I did learn about their concept to consumer practices was the tax payer aspect. Also, how they are planning to build taller piers to match rising sea levels. This will likely be a problem in the future, because it will displace families, even though it will help with safety. It was also interesting to hear about their funding process, as the project itself costed around five billion USD.

After, we had a lot of free time to walk around the museum, and we went to their aquarium and waterslide! It was the perfect way to finish the day, especially since I got to pet a stingray 🙂 Tune in tomorrow for our visit to InHolland!