An active material hood impact mitigation mechanism is activated in response to a signal generated from an impact sensor or pre-impact sensor or manually. The mitigation mechanism is capable of changing either reversibly or irreversibly the stiffness, shape, location, orientation, or displacement force of the hood either globally or locally, before an impact against the hood. The active material mitigation mechanism is held in a device designed to be installed in operative communication with the hood surface. The active material is characterized by a first shape or stiffness and is operative to change to a second shape or stiffness in response to the activation signal. Such active materials include shape memory alloys, electroactive polymers, shape memory polymers, magnetic shape memory alloys, magnetorheological fluids, magnetorheological elastomers, electrorheological fluids, and piezoelectric materials.