Delta Life 9

DELTARES, APRIL 2018 Visitors to De Bastei, the new centre for nature and cultural history in Nijmegen, can use the Sandbox to discover how river dynamics work and to protect themselves from the water. The Sandbox is an interactive set-up that uses sand to simulate a riverbed. Visitors can move the sand around with their own hands. De Bastei launched a - successful - crowdfunding campaign to make this tool available to the general public. The funds made it possible for Deltares to optimise the standard Sandbox model for the Bastei as a river model so that it can be used on a day-to-day basis in the museum. The Spiegelwaal in Nijmegen was used as the basis for the scale model. SMART TEENAGERS ON A VISIT PROTECTION FOR MANILA BAY Deltares is happy to help getting talented teenagers interested in studying science. So we opened our doorsto three hundred participants at the International Junior Science Olympiad (IJSO), a competition for secondary-education pupils aged 15 and younger with an interest in chemistry, physics and biology. The theme of the competition this year was water and sustainability. Students from all over the world worked intensively on assignments for a week. A scholarship was available for some winners. During this competition, none of the participants were allowed to use cell phones or other Wi-Fi devices for ten days. All the assignments had to be completed entirely on their own. We hope to see the students again at Deltares. The Netherlands and the Philippines are joining forces to develop and protect Manila Bay. Led by Deltares, governments and NGOs are developing a plan to clean up the bay and enhance the live­ ability of Metro Manila and the coastal zone for the 25million inhabitants of the area. The region will also bemademore resilient to the effects of climate change. The planning project will cost approximately 5million euros, with 1million euros being paid by the Netherlands, which has already invested in similar projects in Bangladesh, Vietnam, Myanmar and Indonesia. The work in the Philippines will build on experience in those countries. WITH YOUR HANDS IN THE SAND