In 2019, researchers ran a simple test. One group used a VR headset. The other used a regular desktop. Same content. The VR group felt way more immersed, and learned less. Immersion alone isn't enough.
But the good news? In 2022, the same researchers found that applying the right design principles causes learning to explode in an immersive format. Here are the six things the research taught us.
"More immersive" doesn't mean more learning
When a VR world is exciting, it steals attention from the lesson. The environment wins. The content loses.
The fix isn't less immersion. It's better design. The 2022 follow-up study proved it: a well-made VR field trip beat a flat video on both presence and learning.
If your exhibit isn't delivering, the problem is almost always the design. Not the gear.
See how we design for learning →"Presence" isn't just a VR thing
Presence is the feeling that the screen disappears and you're really there. It can happen in a fulldome, a projection gallery, or a planetarium. Not just a headset.
Presence is a design choice, not a tech purchase.
If you already run any kind of immersive exhibit, the research applies to you right now.
The "wow" fades, but that's not the whole story
Yes, the novelty wears off. But excited visitors still learn more than bored ones, and the fixes are well known.
A 2025 study found learning actually goes up as visitors get familiar with VR. Prep them beforehand, design for repeat visits, and the "wow" becomes a starting point. Not a ceiling.
Need the evidence for your board? The white paper has 30 years of research in plain English. Free to cite.
Read the white paper →Solo headsets break the museum experience
Museums are social places. Families visit together. Classes arrive in groups. Individual headsets cut all that off. One person inside, everyone else waiting in line.
Studies reviewed by Oh, Bailenson & Welch (2018) found that shared immersive formats produce higher social presence, and social learning is how museums actually work.
Shared cinema keeps the group together. 20 to 150 visitors, same story, same room, and the social side of learning stays intact.
Solo headsets are a staffing nightmare. ALICE is a seated shared cinema. One button, 20 to 150 visitors per show.
See how ALICE runs →Grant proposals that lead with tech don't get funded
Funders have seen every VR pitch. Proposals that lead with hardware specs lose. Proposals that lead with learning design win.
Frame the tech as the delivery method, not the main event.
NSF, IMLS, and NEH all fund immersive learning. They just want to see you've thought about the teaching, not just the gear.
Writing a grant? The white paper has the effect sizes, models, and citations you need. Free to use.
Read the white paper →The wrong content in VR won't magically work
VR is a transportation machine. Use it for places you can't actually go: the ocean floor, inside a cell, the surface of Mars, or standing with dinosaurs 66 million years in the past.
Stanford's Jeremy Bailenson calls this the DICE rule: save VR for what's Dangerous, Impossible, Counterproductive, or Expensive to do for real.
If it works fine on a flat screen, keep it on a flat screen.
These six findings shaped every design decision we make. Here's exactly how.
See our design principles →Want the full story? It's free.
The Science of Presence pulls 30 years of research into one plain-English paper. Free to cite in grants. No download.
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