Perpich Pilots VR Arts Lessons in Minnesota Classrooms
A virtual reality arts program brings three-dimensional lessons from Arizona artists to Minnesota students, including those in outstate schools.
Updated on Nov. 6, 2026 in Distance Learning
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The Perpich Center for Arts Education is piloting a virtual reality arts immersion program in Minnesota classrooms through a partnership with Arizona-based nonprofit Act One. The pilot is scheduled to end in November, after which Perpich will decide how to proceed.
Why it matters
Outstate schools are far from cultural centers, and live arts experiences are not always feasible for them. The program offers an alternative for schools with limited budgets for busing, substitutes, and logistics.
The pilot reaches the Osseo, Edina, Elk River and Perpich high school plus 10 outstate schools, with each lesson lasting 8 to 10 minutes across six chapters. Outstate students are three to four hours from cultural centers, and the continuation of the Act One partnership remains undecided after the November pilot.
The players
Perpich Center for Arts Education
A Minnesota state arts education institution based in Golden Valley that runs arts programs for students statewide.
Act One
An Arizona-based nonprofit that has offered students arts experiences such as plays and that developed the virtual arts curriculum used in this pilot.
The details
Students watch a three-dimensional video of an artist or performance, then discuss it in a group. Most of the six chapters feature Indigenous or Hispanic artists based in Arizona, and the artists are paid for their work.
Timeline
During the pandemic, Act One began looking for virtual arts opportunities to put art into curriculum.
November 2026: the VR pilot program is scheduled to end.
Big Picture
The VR pilot extends Perpich Center for Arts Education's statewide arts programming by using technology to reach outstate schools that are three to four hours from cultural centers. It tests whether virtual lessons can stand in for field trips that many rural districts cannot afford.
Students in Minnesota classrooms, including those in Osseo, Edina, Elk River and outstate schools, can experience museum tours and performances without leaving school. For outstate families, the program offers arts access that would otherwise require long travel.
The takeaway
Virtual reality could extend arts access to students who live far from cultural centers, which may shape how schools plan enrichment in the years ahead.
What happens next
The VR pilot program ends in November 2026, when Perpich will decide how to move forward with its partnership with Act One.
Further reading
Explore more on Distance Learning to see how schools are bringing lessons to students far from campus.
Source note: This article includes information reported by Hometownsource.
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