Today is our final full day in the Netherlands, and we toured The Hague. The Hague is similar to Washington D.C. in the US, as it is where all the governing takes place. We learned about how the Netherlands turned from a monarchy to having a constitutional monarchy. The Monarchs were doing a poor job…
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Day 10: The stories behind the flood
Today we took a trip to the Rotterdam city central. Our guide showed us some of the tricks they employ here in Rotterdam to prevent flooding. Similar to Enchede, they use lowered portions in the ground to be used as water reservoirs. They use playgrounds, parks, greenery, and almost anything you can think of as…
Day 9: Preventing floods
Today we toured one of the most important sites of engineering in the Netherlands, The Deltaworks. The Deltaworks are a dam that can be opened and closed when water is needed. The project was started because of a massive flood in the 1950s that killed thousands of Dutch people. The Deltaworks took 30 years to…
Day 8: Cheese from Boats
Today was our first full day in Rotterdam, and we spent the morning visiting the world’s first floating farm. This farm is entirely on the water, and only has 2 removable bridges that connect it to land. They had cows, crops in the basement, and a cheese making area. They supply local markets with the…
Day 7: Releasing the Munster
Yesterday was our last day at the University of Twente, and we took a bus this morning to the city of Munster. This city is very historically important, as it is the place where the Treaty of Westphalia was signed. This treaty ended the 30 years war, one of the most important wars in the…
Day 6: Jumping puddles
Today we toured the City of Enchede. Our tour was mainly focused on the work by the city to prevent flooding. Since the city is at a higher elevation than most of the Netherlands, when the city floods, the lower parts of the Netherlands also flood. To try and prevent flooding, the city installed many…
Day 5: Feeling the Breeze
We started our day today with a lecture about wind power, and how wind turbines are designed. We learned the physics behind turbines, and how they are optimized to have the most energy collected while minimizing strain on the blades. This was a very interesting lecture, especially since right afterwards we went to a wind…
Day 4: Running off of Water
Today we left Amsterdam and took a bus over to the University of Twente near Enchede. It is the only “American” style campus in the Netherlands, meaning that it is self enclosed, and not scattered throughout a city. We took a tour of the campus where we learned about their culture, as well as how…
Day 3: Windy Days
We started our day off with a visit to a town called Zaandijk Zaanse Schans. It was a quiet town filled with old windmills. These windmills allowed people hundreds of years ago to automate various parts of living, even before electricity. Some mills would pump water from the canals, maintaining the water level and enabling…
Day 2: The Future of Buildings
Our first site visit today was a floating neighborhood called Schoonschip. It was designed to support a community that was very sustainable, and also very modern. Some of the sustainability features include solar panels on each house, green spaces on the roofs, water recycling, and sustainable materials like wood and bamboo. There is only one…
Day 1: Amsterdenim
Today we had a scavenger hunt that took us around the city of Amsterdam. It took us to various historical landmarks and monuments. Some of these include the Royal palace, and the National Monument toward World War 2 victims. Later in the day, we went to the House of Denim where we learned about how…
Prepping for the Netherlands
Hey, my name is Peter Holt. I am from Forest Hills, PA (about 20 min from Pitt). I am studying Electrical Engineering and potentially going for a math minor as well. I have always loved working with computers and have always been fascinated by electronics and circuits, so electrical engineering seemed like the logical choice….