For immediate release.

Fernbank Museum is Suiting Up to Explore the Evolution of Armor

“Armored Animals” is on view from Oct. 5, 2024 – Jan. 5, 2025.

(Aug. 20, 2024) ATLANTA, GA—This fall, Fernbank Museum invites guests to experience an immersive tour through the last 500 million years of armor evolution in its newest exhibit, “Armored Animals.” Opening Oct. 5, 2024, this exhibit tells a story of protection and defense through the impressive artifacts, spiny displays, and casts from animals like fish and dinosaurs. Other highlights include giant insect sculptures, a 30-foot skeletal replica of the giant crocodilian, Deinosuchus, and more.

“Armored Animals” presents a captivating array of creatures that have independently evolved similar survival strategies. Displays range from the skeletons of rare early armored dinosaurs and ancient armored fish to giant sea scorpions. Moreover, the exhibit underscores how humans have emulated the animal world in their armor construction. Early warriors and hunters sought to capture the awe-inspiring power of animals for their own use. From simple defensive plates and helmets to mimicking the beauty of animals’ armor, there is a distinct connection between natural evolution and human adaptations of animals’ defensive techniques.  

Visitors will come face to face with fearsome carnivores, including tyrannosaurs and the Utahraptor, a large, predatory dinosaur known for its prominent toe claws, and will see for themselves the important role armor played for many species. Some highlights in “Armored Animals” include the skull of the “super croc” Sarcosuchus, one of the largest collections of Ankylosaur skull and skeletal casts ever assembled, a giant ice age tortoise and more.

This exhibit also explores the use of man-made armor. Replicas of eight helmets and a crocodile armor suit demonstrate the ways humans sought to capture the incredible defensive power that animals possess.

"When looking at armor, it is incredibly fascinating to see the common connections between creatures as diverse as insects and dinosaurs and how humans have adopted those same defensive techniques," said Robert Gaston, Exhibit Curator for Armored Animals.

“Armored Animals” is on view from Oct. 5, 2024 – Jan. 5, 2025. This exhibit will be included with General Admission at Fernbank Museum and is free with CityPASS. For more information, please visit https://fernbankmuseum.org  

Armored Animals is designed and developed by Gaston Design and is sponsored locally in part by the Frances Wood Wilson Foundation.

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Related Programming 

Fernbank will host "Armored Animals Day," a family-friendly Discovery Day to celebrate the new special exhibit, “Armored Animals,” from 10 a.m. – 1 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 19, 2024. Additionally, the giant screen film, “T. rex,” will be showing through Nov. 2024.

Tickets 

Exhibits, films and Discovery Days are included with daytime general admission and with CityPASS. General admission tickets include three floors of exhibits in the natural history museum, choice of one giant screen film, and 75-acres of nature explorations in Fernbank Forest and WildWoods. Fernbank After Dark and some other special after-hours events are available at a separate ticket price and may include access to special exhibits. Fernbank is located at 767 Clifton Road NE in Atlanta, minutes from midtown Atlanta and downtown Decatur.  

For more information, visit FernbankMuseum.org. General admission tickets include a film in the Giant Screen Theater. Tickets are $25.95 for adults, $24.95 for seniors, $23.95 for children ages 3-12, free for children ages 2 and younger, and free for Fernbank Members. These prices are for tickets purchased online at FernbankMuseum.org. Tickets not purchased in advance are offered, if available, at a higher price at the Box Office. More information is available at FernbankMuseum.org. 

Media Inquiries
Jena Allison| Communications Manager
Jena.Allison@FernbankMuseum.org
404.929.6381     

About Fernbank    

Fernbank is one of the most popular and iconic cultural destinations in Atlanta. Known as Atlanta's Science and Nature Experience, Fernbank invites guests to discover a World of Wow through an expansive natural history museum, 4-story giant screen theater, and 75-acres of nature adventures in WildWoods and Fernbank Forest. One of the oldest not-for-profit conservation organizations in the country, Fernbank was founded in 1939 to preserve Fernbank Forest, the largest urban, old growth, Piedmont forest in the United States. The museum and giant screen theater opened as "a school in the woods for nature studies" on Oct. 5, 1992, and is today known for its giant dinosaurs, hands-on STEAM* programming, immersive experiences, and year-round nature exploration. Visit fernbankmuseum.org for more information and join the conversation on Facebook, Instagram, X, YouTube and TikTok.   

*Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Mathematics.