Interactive C-SPAN bus visits Youngstown

June 26, 2011 at 12:04a.m.

YOUNGSTOWN

The dark-blue coach bus parked on West Federal Street may have lacked travelers, but it was packed with technology.

“We have different ways to access the news and embrace new media platforms,” said Doug Hemmig, referring to C-SPAN, the popular public-affairs cable channel. “But our mission has not changed.”

Hemmig, a C-SPAN community-relations representative, also was talking about the 45-foot customized digital bus that spent part of Saturday morning in downtown Youngstown to give people a chance to learn more about public and community affairs via interactive multimedia.

C-SPAN’s goals include providing viewers access to live, gavel-to-gavel proceedings in the U.S. House and Senate and other forums of public policy; offering its audience — via call-in programs — direct access to elected officials, reporters and other decision-makers; and operating in a nonpartisan manner, its mission statement says.

The two-hour local stop at OH WOW! The Roger and Gloria Jones Children’s Center for Science & Technology, 11 W. Federal, was sponsored by Time Warner Cable and was part of a national bus tour.

The bus allows participants to experience C-SPAN’s programming across high-tech platforms such as high- definition TV, the Internet and radio, Hemmig noted. It also has hands-on demonstrations featuring the network’s video library, social-media offerings and various resources for civics teachers and their students.

Some people on the bus experimented with touch-screen devices that linked them to information on numerous subjects such as the U.S. Supreme Court, immigration, the Constitution, federalism and U.S. and world history. They also accessed computers set to various platforms, podcasts and other information media.

The bus is on the road 10 or 11 months each year, much of which is spent on community-outreach programs, Hemmig said. About 40,000 civics teachers nationwide use the three C-SPAN channels (C-SPAN, C-SPAN 2 and C-SPAN 3) as teaching tools, as well as for free downloadable video and to prepare lesson plans, he continued.

Stops include schools, museums and city-hall sites, Hemmig added.

C-SPAN reaches out to youngsters in other ways, in part by offering “StudentCam,” a student documentary program for those in grades six through 12, noted Jenny Marland, a C-SPAN marketing representative. The network selects a topic such as the Constitution, for example, and students prepare five- to eight-minute documentaries with their interpretations of the subject, Marland explained, adding that an emphasis is on developing critical-thinking skills.

“It’s a great way to get students interested in the federal government at a young age,” she said.

Marland noted that, contrary to many people’s beliefs, C-SPAN receives funding from cable outlets nationwide and no government dollars.

The bus tour also helps the Jones Children’s Center to better achieve its mission, noted Suzanne Barbati, director. The center’s primary aim is to provide visitors of all ages with a fun, interactive environment to learn more about science, math and technology, she explained.

“There are no mistakes here; there are only experiments,” Barbati said, adding that she’s grateful to the city and community for supporting the children’s center and bus visit.

For more information on C-SPAN’s programs and content, go to www.cspan.org.