Amber

In forests when a tree is damaged or attacked, it defends itself by secreting a viscous, sticky substance called resin. This protects the tree from infection or infestation. Over millennia, as forests fell & began to form peat, with time, pressure & heat, their organic material turned to coal. Trapped within the coal are the remnants of tree resin which turn to copal and then fossilize into amber. Discover how things caught in the resin- remains of plants, animals like insects, spiders, frogs & lizards - help the amber to preserve creatures entombed within, giving paleontologists a window to a far-off time.