The Paläon is Schöningen's reason for being on a travel map. It explains the wooden spears found in the nearby mine, a discovery that pushed the story of early human hunting far deeper into prehistory than most visitors expect.
The building stands close to the find area, so the museum does not feel detached from its subject. Come for the spears, but leave time for the wider story of Ice Age landscapes, horses, tools and the people who moved through this part of northern Germany long before written history.