Debunking Census Myths is a short clip from CNN in which common misunderstandings about the US census are clarified. The clip address questions of citizen obligations and questions about what the government does with the data it collects.

On a related note, I recently stumbled upon a short video about the history of the US census. From Inkwell to Internet traces the history of the US census from 1790 through today.

Applications for Education
Both of these videos could be used for helping students understand why the United States conducts a census every ten years. After watching the videos you could transition into a lesson in which students analyze census data using Google’s Public Data Explorer.

Here are some related items that may be of interest to you:
Significance of the 2010 Census
The History and the Purpose of the US Census