Old port basins on aerial photo and map table

Around 1270, local villagers built a dam in a small stream called the Rotte at a site that now lies in the heart of modern-day Rotterdam. Over the centuries, this humble structure developed into a leading international sea port, which is still growing today.

When you look at the aerial photo on the back wall, you can see the former inner-city port basins to the left of the river. Around 1870, port activities jumped across the water to the south bank – as can be seen on the right-hand side.

The map table shows how over the course of the 20th century, the port of Rotterdam continued to expand westward in the direction of the sea. In fact, both the first Maasvlakte and Maasvlakte 2 were reclaimed from the sea. This is possible thanks to the innovations of modern-day hydraulic engineering.

Thanks to these stereoscopic images of the hi-tech fully-automated container terminals on the other side of the water, you can actually imagine you’re there in person. Don’t forget to push the button to bring up the next picture.

Apparently, the construction of a whole new port area – in an area where the sea used to have an average depth of 17 metres – appeals to people’s imagination. Because Maasvlakte 2 has had no lack of interest. Since FutureLand first opened in 2009, the centre has welcomed an average of 110,000 visitors a year. The video clips show some of the people who have already paid a visit to FutureLand. The Dutch king and queen, for example! Step on the red carpet yourself and feel like a regular VIP.

Take the wheel and become lord and master of the Maasvlakte 2 construction project. The scale model shows you how quickly the new port area is growing year by year, and how the sea is gradually tamed. The joysticks on both sides of the model allow you to move through the area with a small boat. And if you manage to hit a hotspot, you’ll be rewarded with extra information.

After all the sand needed for the construction of Maasvlakte 2 had been carried in, it was time to close the last gap in the seawall. Due to the typical Dutch weather on that fateful day in 2012, it was uncertain until the very last minute whether Queen Beatrix would actually succeed in doing so. Play Mind the Gap yourself! Will you manage to close the seawall on time?

When you extract sand from the North Sea floor, the sea bed turns out to contain the most wonderful surprises. This tour presents our various finds in chronological order. Because that’s how time works too: the most recent treasure lies on top. So first the bombs, and then the bones. Take a trip back in time and come face to face with a great white shark. Oh well – one of its teeth, at least…

Imagine you’re working as a contractor on the construction of Maasvlakte 2. And then one morning, a message in a bottle pops up in your latest haul of sand. Forget about Facebook or Twitter: this is a handwritten note that’s been rolled up and put in a bottle. Seal it with a cork and hey presto: you’re done! And it actually arrives too: not on one, but two occasions! A long letter written by two friends from Ens in the Noordoostpolder, who are about to go to secondary school for the first time. The other bottle contains 20 wishes written by French-speaking schoolchildren. Too nice to leave out of the exhibit, wouldn’t you say?

During the Second World War, allied bombers returning from night-time raids over Germany often still had bombs on board. To increase their chances of landing safely on a British airstrip, it was standard procedure to dump any remaining explosives in the North Sea first. During the construction of Maasvlakte 2, over sixty years later, the contractors had to stop dozens of times to remove a shell that had got stuck in the dredger’s suction tube. No small thing for the crew of the dredging vessels! These bombs were then detonated at a safe distance by specialists in a controlled explosion.

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