The exhibited archaeological objects are complemented by models, visualizations, and touchscreens that help to understand their context and bring the past to life. Younger visitors can touch realistic replicas and play in an Old Stone Age hunting camp. The Kesslerloch diorama from 1939 remains as fascinating as ever, supplemented by an exciting short film.

The journey through time begins with the world-famous sites Kesslerloch and Schweizersbild. There, reindeer hunters left the first human traces in the region after the melting of the ice age glaciers, including outstanding sculptures and incised drawings on bones. The “Grazing Reindeer” and the sculpture of a musk ox are world-famous. The exhibits also include bones from mammoths, woolly rhinoceros, and even a dog. This is one of the oldest pieces of evidence for the domesticated dog.

Fascinating finds and vivid models of the Thayngen-Weier World Heritage Site and the oldest village in Switzerland in Gächlingen show how the first farmers and cattle breeders lived. The exhibits mainly include burial finds from the Bronze and Iron Ages. The Roman period is illustrated by a model and objects from the small town of Iuliomagus in Schleitheim and from the later castle in Stein am Rhein, from whose cemetery the unique hunting bowl originates. The exhibits on the early Middle Ages include a lifelike reconstruction of the richly stocked grave of the Lady of Schleitheim.