Today we woke up at around 7:30 to go catch our bus that was leaving at 8:15. This bus was bringing us to Delta Works, which builds storm surge barriers for the Netherlands. This was a longer bus ride but I enjoyed it as I needed a nap.
Once we arrived at Delta Works, we began by eating some amazing baked sweets and I had a much-needed glass of tea. After fueling up, we watched a quick introduction video and then met our tour guide who brought us around the inner informational part of Delta Works. This was extremely interesting, and although hard to hear, I had some key takeaways. First, these storm surge barriers are going to need to be constantly raised, especially with climate change, so it made me think about how there are many collateral effects of climate change and how increasing sustainability in the environment, even slightly, can limit the amount of resources used on updating and repairing these barriers. Second, I wasn’t aware of the effort it took to actually construct the barriers in the first place. This part was included in the introduction video, and it really made me think about all the intricate pieces that go into a large-scale project like these barriers. From a business perspective, I was thinking about how they brought this idea from a concept and then got construction companies on board in order to bring their idea to fruition. It isn’t a simple process, the video showed me that, but it also showed me that when there is a concrete plan and a well-thought-out concept, beautiful things can be created. We then made out way to the Delta Works experience which was one of the coolest parts of the trip. The experience felt like a Disney ride as it put us right in the middle of a 4D simulation of a flood. This was eye-opening as it gave me a sense of how people actually felt and what these storm barriers are protecting the community from.
After touring the inside of Delta Works, we got to walk around the outside and look at some of the storm surge barriers that we could see. This was one of my favorite parts of the day as it was interesting to see the actual scale of the barriers and to think about all the engineering that really goes into it. The barrier was also around lots of huge wind turbines which were cool for the same reason. I don’t think I realized the immense scale of all these structures and I’m still thinking about how much went into building it. The outside time continued and I decided to go check out some of the animals and the beaches in the surrounding area. These made me think about how Delta Works uses many different methods to generate revenue and pull in customers to their museum. It is fun to think about how they started with the concept of a museum centered around their storm barriers and built that into an interactive museum that incorporates so much more than just the barriers.
To cap off our day at Delta Works, we took a quick boat cruise. The cruise was fun as it gave use a second look at the storm surge barriers from a better angle, and once we moved past the barriers it was very beautiful and relaxing. We then came back to the bus and departed for home.
Today was another long day full of learning. I found that I was able to make many connections to the concept of consumer programs as well as some to sustainability. I hope I can do the same with our visits tomorrow!!
