It has long been understood that physical properties of small Solar System bodies can be disrupted when passing within a few radii of a massive planet (Roche 1849). On UT 2013 February 15, we had an opportunity to measure such a ‘physical experiment’ when the near-Earth asteroid (367943) 2012 DA14 made a close flyby of the Earth at a distance of approximately 27,000 km or 4 Earth-radii – very close to Earth’s Roche limit. Our advance knowledge of this close encounter was unique in that it provided us the opportunity to conduct a coordinated international campaign of ground-based telescopic observations both before and after the flyby. Predicted outcomes of such close encounters include tidal disruption, changes in rotation state, and seismic shaking. The unknown internal structure of an asteroid can be revealed by the way the Earth modifies the asteroid: a ‘rubble pile’ will dissipate tidal energy differently than a solid or partially fractured monolith. We will present the results of our multi-observatory campaign that obtained visible-wavelength photometric and spectroscopic observations of 2012 DA14 during its discovery epoch in 2012, and surrounding its close approach in 2013.