Cherry Crest Elementary second grader Ben Buckley sat in the council chambers at Bellevue City Hall and studied the man’s face.

“Are you the mayor?” he asked the man.

“No, but I’m flattered,” said Travis DesAutels, Service First coordinator, who gave a tour of City Hall to a group of students May 26. “The mayor of Bellevue is Grant Degginger.”

As part of the “Community through Kids’ Eyes” event, 60 Cherry Crest students converged onto the streets of Bellevue with a disposable camera in hand to become familiar with the connection between themselves and their community.

Throughout the day, students visited places such as the library, North Bellevue Senior Center, Washington Mutual, Whole Foods and a UPS Store to learn the important role public and private institutions have in society. With funding through a $400 grant from the Bellevue Schools Foundation, students each received a camera to document the event and take pictures of meaningful structures, people and places.

At City Hall, DesAutels spoke with students about who the council is and the functions of the parks department, public safety, utilities and development services.

“Who makes sure that your drinking water is good and clean?” he asked.

“The plumber!” one student answered.

“Close, it’s the Utilities Department,” DesAutels replied.

He led students out to the lobby and showed them the terrazo floor, which he said represents “a big flowing river.” Students squatted to read the “secret golden engravings” in the floor and flashed their cameras.

Student Andre Garone said his favorite place he visited was City Hall.

“I didn’t know the mayor actually sat with the council,” he said. “I thought he sat separately.”

Emma Kay Parkin liked the Bellevue Service Center, where she saw three big utility trucks, including a sweeper.

“The sweeper cleans the streets to get all the germs off,” Parkin explained. “It has two huge driving wheels that I thought were really cool.”

Her mother, Debby, said the event was a great opportunity for the kids to think about their community.

“Instead of just a visit to the grocery store a couple times a week, they might be looking a little closer and be able to realize all the factors involved in providing the food to the store, getting it on the shelf and providing it to the consumer,” she said.

Students’ photos, along with their experiences will be used as a writing platform in their community journals. The journals will be shared with classmates and serve as a discovery and recording tool for students and teachers.

Carrie Wood can be reached at cwood@reporternewspapers.com or 425-453-4290.