New Armored Animals exhibit will be on view from October 5, 2024 to January 5, 2025

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 October 5, the exhibit tells a story of protection and defense through impressive artifacts, spiny displays and a variety of animal casts — from the skeletons of rare, early armored dinosaurs and ancient armored fish to giant sea scorpions and more.

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 that armor played for many species.

Other highlights include the skull of the “super croc” Sarcosuchus and a 30-foot skeletal replica of the giant crocodilian Deinosuchus. Large insect sculptures, a giant ice age tortoise and one of the largest collections of ankylosaur skull and skeletal casts ever assembled will also be on display.

Man-made armor

The exhibit also explores the use of man-made armor, underscoring how humans have historically emulated the animal world in their armor construction. From simple defensive plates and helmets to the mimicking of the design and beauty of animals’ natural armor, there’s a distinct connection between natural evolution and human adaptations of defensive techniques.

Replicas of eight helmets and a crocodile armor suit demonstrate the ways early warriors and hunters 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.

The details

Developed by Gaston Design and sponsored locally in part by the Frances Wood Wilson Foundation, Armored Animals will open on October 5. A special viewing will be offered at Fernbank’s A Timeless Affair fundraising event that evening.

The exhibit will be included with all of the museum’s general admission tickets and is free with CityPASS.

For more information, visit fernbankmuseum.org.

The museum’s fundraiser gala returns on October 5

Fernbank Museum will once again host its annual black-tie gala, A Timeless Affair, on Saturday, October 5 at 7:00 p.m. This special evening of fun and fundraising will highlight Fernbank’s fascinating new Armored Animals exhibit and raise money to support the museum’s ongoing work. All proceeds from the event will help fund the world-class exhibitions, impressive giant-screen movies, family activities and immersive nature programs for which Fernbank is known.

This year’s Timeless Affair will feature a lovely sunset cocktail hour on Dinosaur Plaza, followed by a seated dinner among the dinosaurs in the Great Hall. Live music and dancing, a private viewing of Armored Animals and a silent auction will round out the evening. Guests will have the chance to bid on a showcase of exclusive items generously donated by local businesses and supporters.

There will also be a paddle raise to support Fernbank’s Museum Access scholarship initiative. More than 50,000 students throughout the state visit Fernbank on a school field trip each year — made possible, in part, by the success of A Timeless Affair.

“The annual gala plays an important role each year as it helps fund programming for Fernbank, allowing the museum to spark curiosity and foster a deeper understanding of human history and the planet’s rich biodiversity,” said Jennifer Grant Warner, president and CEO of Fernbank. “The funds from this event help bring innovative exhibits, dynamic programs, captivating films and essential school programs to our community.”

Event organizers and sponsors

The honorary chair of this year’s fundraiser is philanthropist Margaret Hodgson Ellis Langford, whose dedication to Fernbank continues her family’s environmental legacy. Langford’s mother grew up in a house located in Fernbank Forest, which the Hodgson family, alongside Atlanta civic leaders, had the remarkable foresight to preserve as “a school in the woods for nature studies.” Established as a non-profit in 1939 — making it one of the oldest conservation-focused nonprofits in the United States – Fernbank has continued to preserve and restore the 65 acres of old-growth forest as part of its ongoing mission.

Event chairs, Robin and Neale Fisher, Stewart and Crawford Jones and Mary Clancy and Kevin Peak generously support Fernbank’s mission to ignite a passion for science, nature and human culture through exploration and discovery.

The planning committee for A Timeless Affair includes corporate chair, Wab Kadaba, as well as patron chairs, Stacy and Sachin Shailendra. The event’s scholarship chairs, Elizabeth and Shane Hornbuckle and Cherie and Ed Van Winkle, along with auction chairs, Abby England, Jean Harvey Johnson and Juan Johnson and Holly and Townsend Young are also recognized — and appreciated — by the museum.

A Timeless Affair 2024 is sponsored by Delta Air Lines, Georgia Natural Gas and Romanoff Renovations. The patron party hosts are Susannah Frost and Jeff Yost. And the advisory chairs are Michelle Davis and Honorable Walter W. Davis and Drs. Kalinda and Kevin E. Woods.

The details

The fundraiser takes place on Saturday, October 5, starting at 7:00 p.m. and promises to be an enchanting night of glamour, connection and generosity. Fernbank’s fall exhibit, Armored Animals, opens the same day and will run through January 8, 2025.

For more information on A Timeless Affair, including how to purchase tickets or make an online donation, visit fernbankmuseum.org/atimelessaffair.

Fernbank Museum is embracing a new golden opportunity starting in late August with the opening of Golden Opportunity: Botanical Illustration, a special artistic exhibit showcasing the science of the color yellow — how it occurs naturally in plants, how pollinators see yellow and how the color is used as a pigment — through a collection of art pieces and other objects.

Created by the Denver Botanic Gardens’ School of Botanical Art & Illustration, Golden Opportunity includes 15 botanical art works of yellow plants that were created with colored pencils, watercolors, graphite, ink and mixed media, including the daffodil, Buddha’s hand, sunflower, pansy and more.

Art and nature

“Art and nature are natural companions,” said Jen Tobias, associate director of exhibitions & art collections; curator of art, Denver Botanic Gardens. “We love talking about nature as both material for artists and aesthetic inspiration, and we thought that color would be a fun way to explore the relationship between those two ideas. Showcasing the different ways that plants, natural dyes, and colors are interconnected is also such an interesting way to think about all the different ways the natural world influences our daily life.”

Along with the artwork on display, visitors also have the opportunity to learn how different yellow-based pigments, made from plants such as turmeric, saffron, Dyer’s rocket and marigold, are used in textiles. Guests can admire the natural wonder that goes into creating and coloring everyday objects and appreciate the science and artistic inspiration that comes from botanical sources.

Additionally, visitors will learn more about the daffodil (which has an estimated 18,000 different variations); play a game with flip panels to match dye colors to the plant or animal it comes from; watch a short video explaining how certain insects see the color yellow and how flower color helps aid in the pollination of plants; and view bowls of dye powder that have surprising appearances and origins — such as henna or powder made from cochineal bugs.

Sponsored locally in part by the Francis Wood Wilson Foundation, “Golden Opportunity” is presented in both English and Spanish and will run from August 31, 2024 to January 1, 2025.

For more information about Fernbank or to purchase tickets, visit fernbankmuseum.org.