On Monday, December 11, C-SPAN’s all-new, state-of-the-art 45-foot customized motor coach visited Mt. Lebanon High School and Steel Valley High School during a stop in Pittsburgh. Comcast partnered with C-SPAN to engage teachers and students, community members and elected officials through interactive demonstrations of C-SPAN’s multi-platform public service resources.
The new, high-tech, interactive C-SPAN Bus includes these upgraded resources:
- Access to an exclusive interactive experience available on 11 large-screen tablets featuring C-SPAN programming and myriad of political and educational resources
- A smart TV and classroom area for conversations with students and teachers
- A high-definition TV production studio for taped and live programming
- A 360-degree video station featuring C-SPAN’s unfiltered coverage of high-profile events and insightful, behind-the-scenes tours of U.S. landmarks
- A D.C.-themed selfie station where visitors can share their Bus experience through social media
Students and teachers were invited aboard the bus to learn about C-SPAN Classroom, a free online educational resource, and C-SPAN’s national documentary competition, StudentCam. Awarding $100,000 in prize money, the competition challenges students to produce a 5-7 minute documentary using C-SPAN video to explore a local or national issue of importance. This year’s theme is “The Constitution and You,” asking students to pick any provision of the U.S. Constitution and illustrate why it’s important to them.
To launch the new C-SPAN Bus – and begin the celebration of the 25th anniversary of the Bus program – C-SPAN embarked on a “50 Capitals Tour” in September 2017, heading to every U.S. state capital, culminating in November 2018. As the Bus travels, elected officials will be featured during C-SPAN’s signature morning program, Washington Journal. C-SPAN Representatives are also gathering video responses from visitors as part of its “Voices from the States” – an opportunity for citizens to share viewpoints on state issues and what they think Washington leaders should do to address local concerns.
Since 1993, a C-SPAN Bus has traveled across the nation in partnership with C-SPAN’s cable and satellite providers for local interactions through visits to schools and community events. Visitors to the Bus will engage with the C-SPAN Bus crew and the onboard interactive tools to learn about the unique public service television networks, C-SPAN’s online presence and C-SPAN Classroom’s comprehensive educational resources. Bus visitors will learn about C-SPAN’s unique non-commercial, editorially-balanced, non-biased coverage of public affairs and political events and the cable industry’s commitment to funding its operations.
In Pittsburgh, C-SPAN programming is provided by Comcast as a commercial-free public service and can be seen on channel 1128; C-SPAN2 on channel 1129; and C-SPAN3 on channel 1130 and on the web at C-SPAN.org. All funding for C-SPAN operations, including Bus visits, is provided by cable and satellite providers.
Fans can follow the adventures of the C-SPAN Bus on Twitter and Instagram @cspancommunity and online at C-SPAN.org/community.
