UW Virtual Brain Project
What Is It?
The UW Virtual Brain Project is a free educational VR experience developed by researchers at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. It takes students on guided tours through five sensory systems of the human brain — Visual, Auditory, Touch (Somatosensory), Olfactory, and Gustatory — using 3D brain models constructed from real MRI scan data.
In each lesson, you travel along neural pathways from the sense organ to the cerebral cortex, stopping at information stations where narrated captions (displayed above your non-dominant hand) explain what each structure does. The lessons are intentionally brief — around 5 minutes each — designed to slot into a normal lesson as a focused enrichment activity rather than replace teaching altogether.
The team behind it — led by Prof. Karen Schloss and Prof. Bas Rokers — describe VR as working like a microscope or telescope: a tool that gives students access to experiences otherwise impossible to have, without replacing the teacher, the textbook, or peer discussion.
The Five Sensory Lessons
The Science Behind the App
Unlike most educational VR apps, the UW Virtual Brain Project is backed by peer-reviewed research published in Translational Issues in Psychological Science (2021). In controlled lab experiments and a live undergraduate course, researchers compared the VR lessons against the same content shown on a desktop monitor.
In the classroom trial (Spring 2019, ~80 students), Prof. Schloss rotated the whole cohort through 25 headsets in roughly 20 minutes — with time left for a follow-up discussion. Students suggested they'd welcome more time to explore freely, and more worked examples.
How to Use It in Class
Because each lesson runs for about 5 minutes, a class set of headsets can be shared across a large group relatively quickly. The research team suggest a simple three-phase structure that works well:
What People Are Saying
"Just as students do not spend entire classes with microscopes attached to their face, they also need not spend entire classes in VR headsets. VR acts as a springboard to facilitate discussion rather than isolate students from each other and the instructor."
"The power of VR is its ability to transport learners to new environments they might not otherwise be able to explore. Our findings indicate that learners without access to VR technology are not at an inherent disadvantage — but VR makes the experience notably more engaging."
"It helped me understand the visual pathways more than the textbook diagrams ever did. Being inside the brain and actually following the signal from the retina all the way through — that's something you just can't get from a 2D diagram."
XR School Scores
The UW Virtual Brain Project is one of the most educationally credible VR apps in existence. It was built by neuroscientists, tested in real classrooms, and validated in peer-reviewed research. At zero cost and with a PC/Mac fallback that removes the hardware barrier entirely, there is simply no reason not to use it in any biology, psychology or neuroscience lesson covering sensory systems. It is an outstanding resource.
The exact same five lessons are available as a free download for PC and MacOS. The research showed identical learning outcomes on desktop — only enjoyment differed. Students without headset access miss nothing educationally.
Schloss, K.B. et al. (2021). The UW Virtual Brain Project: An immersive approach to teaching functional neuroanatomy. Translational Issues in Psychological Science.
Read the paper →