Today we visited a floating farm. This floating farm had everything it needed, even though it is located on the water. The top floor was where the cows lived and where an automatic cow milker was located. Underneath that was where they made dairy products and the food for the cows. The food for the cows was made with recyclable food. Also, on top of all of this, they deliver most of their products. So this farm is very sustainable. The cows they have are usually older and aren’t used for beef but for milk instead. By using older cows, they don’t have to worry about replacing the cows. They also dont have a bull, so they dont have to worry about overpopulation of the cows. One big question about the farm was how the cows felt, and their milk production actually increased, proving the cows are fine with being on water. It is crazy to see how this farm has become fully functional, and I do wonder if these can be done in the U.S.

After this, we headed over to RDM. RDM is an innovation and technology center for students and companies. RDM used to be an old shipyard, but was transformed into this giant building for students and companies. It was crazy to see how this place transformed into what it is today. While walking around, we saw multiple students working on projects; the area looked very similar to our makerspace on campus. Then we saw the business side of the building. There were multiple businesses around the warehouse. We saw multiple businesses, from 3D-printed coral reefs and Metal 3D printers to a safe device used to fix windmills located on multiple boats. It was cool to see how they can take something from their past and find a new purpose for it. We also learned about some troubles Rotterdam is having, and that is a cocaine problem. The docks are being used to smuggle it in, and it is very hard to stop these shipments and track them down, leading to a bad drug problem. This makes me think about other countries and if they also face similar drug problems, or how they combat these drug problems. Overall, today was filled with many learning opportunities and a reminder that something old can be used to make something new.