Today, we took another scenic bus ride to South Holland, which hosts a museum that educates visitors on the efforts taken by Delta Works to control flooding in the delta region of The Netherlands. There, I learned all about how the infrastructures were designed and built through an informative video, guided tour, and immersive experience.

This was an informative and meaningful experience to have, especially just a few days after we visited the Watersnood Museum, which taught us about the flood of 1953, the most impactful and devastating flood to hit The Netherlands. The Delta Works construction projects that followed this event sparked a completely new approach to handling floods and preventing further events striking at this caliber. Mechanized storm surge barriers were put in place to regulate water levels near the deltas. We learned about the inner workings of them and how they are regulated and maintained. This is one of the coolest and most revolutionary projects that I have witnessed, and getting to approach its effects from a personal and technical regard made me further appreciate it. I also liked how I got to see an application of the engineering design process, which I learned about in class the past two semesters, to solve a problem that affects thousands of lives.

After our tour of the museum, we got to explore other parts of the area, which ended up being equally as fun. First, we took a walk around to get a closer look at the storm surge protectors and see the many wind turbines, which I learned produce 14% of the energy used in the facility. Next, we visited the aquarium and saw fish that are native to the North Sea. Finally, we went on a short boat cruise that explained even more Delta Works history and gave us beautiful views of the shore along the North Sea. Though it was very windy, it was a relaxing and informative way to end our visit.