Today we took an adventure to Delta Works! This is a park and historical monument about an hour and a half outside of our hotel. Here technology was used to make dams to help regulate flood control in the area. After the North Sea flood of 1953 that we learned about in our museum visit yesterday, the Delta Works were installed to ensure that such a horrific event and loss would never happen again. We were greeted with breakfast and coffee once we arrived at the site to start off our day, followed by a short movie of the lengthy construction process of the works and all the hard work that was put in. It was so interesting seeing how something this huge was even possible to create and what the process was to construct it. The final project came in at a total of 4 billion euros. Afterwards we took a walking tour of the museum section to get some visuals and scale models of the construction and history. I learned that the gate is closed 32 times per year to protect against flooding, the gates are closed for about five hours when they shut to ensure safety, and that gates are given four test runs per year.
We also took a walk up close to the windmills that power the site. It was amazing seeing them so up close! They were even larger than I had pictured and create a lot of noise. It was another beautiful day so walking along the path was a beautiful sight.
We also got to walk through the Delta experience, an interactive exhibit of firstly what the flooding was like in the horrific floods that happened before the works were installed. It was a simulation of the glass shattering and thunderstorms roaring, really giving me a visual of how terrifying the event could be. The second half was immersive but a positive note of the constriction of the works and how these awful floods will hopefully never happen again due to this technology. We were also provided with lunch after this then given time to explore the park! We firstly started by walking through the aquarium where we saw several animals native to the North Sea, such as seals, sharks, and stingrays. We also walked through a whale exhibit where we got to learn about the creatures and just how big they are! This was so informative learning about the wildlife of the sea. We finished our free time by taking a quick slide down one of the water slides which was so cute and fun. We then got on a boat to take a cruise around the works, which have us a beautiful view of the sea and an up close look of the windmills and how they worked. We even saw some seals laying out on an island!
We finally reached shore again and then made our way back to the hostel. This trip was so informative on how and why the works were built and just how important they are to maintain safety. After returning we found a pasta spot in the city where I got a delicious spicy penne and got to take in the sunset walking through the city. Today was such a fun and interactive day not only for learning about the culture of the Netherlands but actually seeing it work in action too!