Nature’s Knights: New traveling exhibition at NM Museum of Natural History & Science showcases armor in the animal kingdom

Albuquerque, NM – The New Mexico Museum of Natural History & Science is pleased to welcome a new traveling exhibition exploring the natural defenses that animals have evolved over millions of years.Animal Armor: The Evolution of Armor in Dinosaurs and Prehistoric Animals will be on view when the museum reopens this spring. 

“From Ankylosaurusto armadillos, animals have been evolving new ways to defend themselves from predators for hundreds of millions of years,” said New Mexico Museum of Natural History & Science (NMMNHS) Executive Director Dr. Anthony Fiorillo. “This new traveling exhibition will be just one of the new features visitors can expect when we reopen this spring.” 

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Developed by Colorado-based Gaston Design Inc., Animal Armor explores how animals have evolved defensive armor to protect themselves from predators and competition over the last 500 million years. These evolutions have resulted in some of the most beautiful and bizarre adaptations in the animal kingdom. 

In Animal Armor, visitors will have a chance to meet all kinds of ancient and modern armored animals, from beetles and armadillos to prehistoric giant crocodilians and dinosaurs, and to discover how these animals’ built-in defenses have inspired human armor. This exhibition will also include rarely seen specimens from the museum’s Collections, including fossils from Glyptotherium texanum, a giant prehistoric relative of the armadillo, and Deinosuchus, a prehistoric crocodile relative that exceeded 30 feet. 

The exhibition will open when the museum reopens following its ongoing renovation project, slated for Spring 2026. The exhibition will be located on the museum’s first floor. There is no additional fee to explore the exhibit. This exhibition is sponsored in part by Thornburg Investment Management. 

Animal Armor is just one of the changes to the museum that visitors can expect, alongside a new lobby and ticketing area, an expanded gift shop, and updated infrastructure. To learn more about the exhibition and plans for the museum’s reopening, visit nmnaturalhistory.org.