Amber: Golden Window to the Past

Explore both the science and art of amber in this new special exhibit in The Vault. Amber’s humble beginning as tree resin hasn’t kept it from being highly prized. For millenia, people have used it to create jewelry and decorative items, as a folk remedy, and as a part of myth and legend. Today, it is equally valued for the traces of the past it may contain: small insects, frogs, feathers, and flowers have all been found as inclusions within amber. Some date from as far back as the Triassic, about 230 million years ago. Within the exhibit you will peer inside amber to see ancient insects and experience the beauty of amber objects.