Gerontology research has traditionally relied on interviews and observational methods to explore relational experiences. While these approaches are valuable, they can constrain how emotional, sensory, and embodied aspects of older people’s lives are expressed and understood. Creativity, Art and Design (CAD) approaches offer powerful yet under-utilised possibilities for person centred care research by enabling alternative forms of expression, shared meaning making, and participant agency. However, many researchers lack practical opportunities to experiment with these methods or to consider how they might be integrated into ethically sensitive research contexts. This CADSIG sponsored ThinkTank uses a participatory World Café format to explore how creative methods can be applied within gerontology research. The session is organised around a shared research scenario, with participants rotating across a series of facilitated method tables. Each table introduces a distinct creative approach and invites participants to actively apply the method to the scenario. The ThinkTank will focus on photo-voice, research poetry, interactive movement and dance, and music, offering participants exposure to a diverse set of visual, textual, and embodied research methods that are less commonly encountered in gerontology research. Through structured cycles of learning, experimentation, and reflection, participants will collectively examine what creative methods make visible, audible, or imaginable in gerontology research. The session will demonstrate how issues of power, ethics, and representation can be navigated, and how CAD approaches can complement conventional qualitative designs. Rather than presenting finished findings, the session emphasises practical engagement with methodological process, reflexivity, and capability building. By positioning creative methods as a form of methodological care, this ThinkTank contributes to ongoing CAD conversations about participatory research, ethical practice, and the role of creativity in advancing more human centred and inclusive approaches to ageing research. Proposed outcome: The findings from the ThinkTank will be synthesised into a paper for the Australasian Journal of Ageing focused on the application of CAD methods in gerontology research. This paper will support AAG members and the broader research community by providing practical insight into creative research approaches. The outcomes will also inform the future activities of the CAD SIG. Proposed activity timeline: Total duration: 2.5 hours 1. Introduction (30 minutes) Introduction of speakers and session objectives, with a brief overview of Creativity, Art and Design approaches as complementary methods within gerontology research. The introduction will highlight key methodological considerations, including power relations, ethical sensitivity, and representation, and position creative methods alongside more conventional qualitative designs. The shared gerontology research scenario will then be introduced to frame the participatory activities. 2. World Café: creative methods rotation (1.5 hours) Four facilitated tables, with participants rotating through each method. Duration: 20 minutes per table Structure: Method introduction and activity (20 minutes) Transition time between tables (2.5 minutes) Each table host introduces a Creativity, Art and Design method and facilitates a hands on activity related to the shared research scenario. Participants rotate to a new table each round to engage with a different method. 3. Plenary discussion and next steps (30 minutes) Whole group discussion to reflect on shared learnings, methodological insights, ethical considerations, and potential future directions for CAD informed gerontology research.