Or, in this case, they walked onto a boat! In August 2015, three members of the North Carolina Museum of Art’s education and marketing teams joined curator John Coffey on a research trip to the islands of Maine for special exhibition "Childe Hassam: American Impressionist and the Isles of Shoals." Instead of bringing back a pretty postcard as a souvenir, the team returned with a digital “suitcase” full of video, photo, audio, and storytelling content to unpack across exhibition design, interpretation, marketing, docent training, education, and programming. Many times, only the exhibition curator makes these types of research trips before communicating the big ideas of the exhibition to the rest of the museum’s departments. This time, as a team, the NCMA was able to help shape the narrative, create a shared language, and better inform staff with a deeper understanding of the artist and the island. This shared understanding helped create more meaningful and connected experiences for our visitors. In this presentation, the educator and marketing specialist who were part of this trip will share the benefits and challenges of this sort of deep intradepartmental collaboration, and provide examples of the creative content that was used to connect with visitors. Speakers Session Leader : Emily Kotecki, Distance Learning Educator, North Carolina Museum of Art Co-Presenter : Karlie Marlowe, Digital Marketing Manager, North Carolina Museum of Art MCN 2016 Presenting Sponsor: Piction New Orleans, LA