![[Translate to English:] Forschungsmuseum Schöningen](/fileadmin/user_upload/Speere/Logos/FM%20Schoeningen%20Farbspiel.svg)
The paläon Forschungsmuseum uniquely combines the exciting experience of the Palaeolithic with cutting-edge archaeological research in an innovative exhibition concept. Visitors travel back about 300,000 years to the Palaeolithic and meet the first inhabitants of Lower Saxony. In exciting exhibits, they experience what a hunting expedition might have been like about 300,000 years ago. They can see the Schöningen spears in the immediate vicinity of where they were found, where they were left around 300,000 years ago and where they were discovered in 1994 - and where excavations are still ongoing today.
The Schöningen spears are among the most important archaeological finds worldwide. They are the oldest completely preserved wooden weapons in human history and revolutionised our picture of the first humans in Central Europe. For archaeology, they are an open book, providing a glimpse back into the world of the Paleolithic. The spears prove that Homo heidelbergensis planned his actions, had technological skills, used sophisticated hunting strategies, and communicated with each other in a complex social structure. The history of our Paleolithic ancestors had to be rewritten.
Whether school classes, students, families, tourists or experts: The public can look forward to an eventful permanent exhibition rich in content, look over the shoulders of the archaeologists and palaeontologists at work in a glass laboratory, and become researchers themselves in the interactive visitor laboratory. And not only in the exhibition, but also in the outdoor area, the living environment of the Palaeolithic era is brought to life. The extensive park a playground and an adventure trail invites you to get moving. The visit is rounded off by the aesthetic fusion of world-class modern architecture and a landscape designed in the Paleolithic style.
The geological peculiarity of the Schöningen site also provides a revealing insight into the climate history of the region. The layers of earth provide unique insights into climate development between two ice ages. Environmental changes and how humans adapt to them are therefore further topics in the permanent exhibition. This establishes a link to the phenomena and mechanisms of current climate changes.
As a recognised extracurricular learning centre, the paläon Forschungsmuseum also offers an extensive, pedagogically prepared programme for teachers and school classes, especially with regard to the concept of Education for Sustainable Development (ESD).
On January 1, 2025, the former Forschungsmuseum Schöningen, previously run by the Niedersächsisches Landesmat für Denkmalpflege (NLD; State Heritage Office of Lower Saxony State) in Hannover, was taken over by the 3Landesmuseen Braunschweig and connected to the Staatliches Naturhistorisches Museums (State Natural History Museum) as a branch. In the future, research, collections, exhibitions and education will be inseparably linked at the paläon Forschungsmuseum. This will anchor this museum in a unique location for research in Schöningen, in the long term the region and in the system of cultural institutions in south-eastern Lower Saxony, and it will cooperate closely with numerous other research partners.
Contact:
E-Mail: info.forschungsmuseum(at)3landesmuseen.de
Phone: +49 (0)531 1225-5000
The paläon Forschungsmuseum | amaze - research - experience - understand
Who we are
The paläon Schöningen Forschungsmuseum presents its world-famous archaeological excavation results, the oldest wooden weapons in the world, in the immediate vicinity of the site where they were found. It also boasts award-winning architecture in a spacious outdoor area, directly on the edge of the former open-cast mine.
At our museum, visitors will encounter a wealth of expertise on the Palaeolithic and related disciplines, as well as on conservation and restoration science. We combine the preservation of archaeological monuments and cutting-edge research with attractive communication in an innovative exhibition concept, and see ourselves as an interface between science and society. Here, the public can experience archaeology live, take a look behind the scenes and thus develop a basic understanding of scientific methods.
Our museum is open to everyone, and we work with a wide range of methods to provide access to diverse visitor groups. Our offers are aimed at families and school children, but we also want ro reach older people, students, tourists from all over Germany, Europe and overseas, and people with disabilities. We organise hands-on activities, educational events, lectures, excavation tours and much more. The varied programme of the extracurricular place of learning for eductaion for sustainable development offers diverse opportunities for school, kindergardens, universities and other educational institutions. It combines archeology and its neighboring sciences with the idea of sustainability for a positive and forward-looking development of humanity. We organise changing special exhibitions to create new incentives for our guests time and again.
A highly motivated team is commited to the offers, designed the museum with passion and enthusiasm. The friends' association 'Schöninger Speere – Erbe der Menschheit' is a reliable supporter.
What we want
The paläon Forschungsmuseum is a globally significant location for research on Palaeolithic times, with strong ties to the cultural landscape and the partner field in south-eastern Lower Saxony. In order to be recognised internationally beyond the scientific community, we are creating a wide range of digital formats that enable participation across all borders. The house is embedded in a strong network of collaborations and continues to develop with the support of the citizens in the region. We are constantly expanding these connections.
We want to strengthen the creative skills of children and young people for a future worth living in. As a point of contact for the entire education sector, we are the interface of an education for sustainable development, bringing together various stakeholders, inspiring projects and structures, and supporting them. We strive for accessibility in the sense of spatial and haptic accessibility and want to reach different target groups with an innovative, unrestricted programme.
What is important to us
We are politicalle neutral and committed to the principles of good scientific practice, because they form the basis of our credibility. We consider the UNESCO sustainability goals to be an indispensable part of our work; as a science location on the edge of a former open-cast lignite mine, this is a core concern for us. Our work is characterised by openness, enthusiasm and creativity. We are currently planning and designing the revision of the permanent exhibition, which is now >10 years old, and which will incorporate the latest research from excavations of recent years. We are constantly working on new concepts and ideas for how we can bring our diverse archaeological, palaeontological and geological topics to life for our visitors.