Aboard the Campaign Bus, a Presidential Political Tour

The St. Ambrose Catholic School third-graders touring C-SPAN's Campaign 2008 bus were fascinated by the cameras surrounding them. Soon, a different kind of focus was on them.

"Do you think you can affect politics?" asked Tamara Robinson, a marketing representative with the public service cable channel.

"No," they replied.

"No? You guys are old enough," she said. "You can write letters to your congressman, to your senator. You guys are old enough to effect change."

Robinson is one of two station representatives who have been engaging students throughout the country in the political process aboard one of two C-SPAN buses, one of which visited St. Ambrose, an elementary and middle school in Cheverly, on May 1.

The buses travel to schools, conferences and communities before their states' presidential primaries. Visits are free. On board, visitors get a peek at the mobile operation that helps to provide coverage of the U.S. Senate and House and the 2008 campaign on the nonprofit cable channel. Inside the bus are two cameras, a flat-screen television and a space to conduct interviews, as well as a bench where guests can sit.

Students can watch interviews that have been conducted and chat with the marketing representatives, who can zoom the cameras in on the kids' faces and project them on the television. The bus has been used for interviews with major political figures.

Angela Seldon, a senior specialist in the C-SPAN human resources department and the mother of St. Ambrose third-grader Hunter Seldon, told Principal Carl Berger about the bus and planned the visit. Seldon said the buses traditionally tour the nation but do not often travel close to Washington.

Scott Peterson, a C-SPAN marketing representative, said a stopover was arranged en route to Columbia, S.C. Earlier in the day, the bus visited Oxon Hill High School.

"Our main goal is to reach out to teachers and say C-SPAN is a resource for students to use to learn about politics and the campaign," Robinson said.

Jim Goeke-Morey, who teaches social studies in grades six through eight at St. Ambrose, said the bus visit is great for students. As election coverage has picked up, Goeke-Morey said his students have asked questions about how the primary system works, what a caucus is, why Iowa and New Hampshire vote first and why all states can't vote at once.

"They've asked, 'Why can't kids vote? My brother's in high school. He's 16. Why can't he vote?' " Goeke-Morey said. "So we've touched on this."

Third-grader Dylan Cook, 8, of Silver Spring said his favorite feature inside the bus was the camera.

Cook said that before stepping on the bus, he had no idea independent candidate Ralph Nader was running in the presidential election. Robinson played a video clip of Nader for Cook and his classmates.

"And I didn't know Barack Obama [would be] the first black president," Cook said.

Robinson said she wants students to know they can make an impact on politics. She also would like them to be attentive to how media affect how a story is viewed, such as when a camera lens zooms in on a person's face to signify that his or her next sentence is the most important part of the interview.

Berger said he hopes the experience will help students become more active in the democratic process.

"I think democracy is too often seen as a spectator sport, and you need participation to make it work," Berger said.