This article examines the journey of museum educators at the Chicago History Museum in understanding the Common Core State Standards and implementing them in our work with the school audience. The process raised questions about our teaching philosophy and our responsibility to our audience. Working with colleagues inside and outside of our organization allowed us to experiment with new approaches to student programming. The workshop "Painted Memories: The Great Chicago Fire" marks our first student program created after the full implementation of the Common Core and is a departure for us with its focus on American art.