Montclair State University cut the ribbon Tuesday on a 2,450-square-foot virtual reality lab inside its College of Communication and Media building, and the guest of honor wasn’t a university trustee or a tech executive — it was Hollywood producer Walter Parkes, the 75-year-old co-founder of Dreamscape Immersive who has produced more than 50 films, including the Men in Black series. The 10:30 a.m. opening ceremony arrived just days after Montclair State began its fall semester on August 27, marking the debut of a facility that pairs Hollywood-grade immersive technology with New Jersey’s push to become a digital media hub.
The lab was built in partnership with Dreamscape Learn, a joint venture between Arizona State University and Dreamscape Immersive, according to NJ.com. Inside, the space includes a 26-seat classroom and a free-roam pod that lets students explore a virtual world using 360-degree motion-capture technology and highly advanced haptics, which simulate touch through vibrations and other physical stimuli. The New Jersey Economic Development Authority partially funded the lab, and Montclair State did not immediately respond to a request for comment on its total cost, per the same report.
A Producer’s Personal Stake in the Project
Parkes, who attended the September 1 opening at Montclair State University, told those gathered that students face a terribly uncertain workplace. “Almost every standard people took for granted is shifting daily,” he said, adding that students need a deep tool chest to navigate an uncertain future. He also argued that virtual reality is a powerful tool for engaging students and that creativity is a human trait rather than an artificial-intelligence trait, saying the new lab will encourage creativity.
Parkes helped develop DreamWorks earlier in his career before co-founding Dreamscape Immersive, a company that drew early backing from entertainment heavyweights including Steven Spielberg, Hans Zimmer, IMAX, AMC Theatres, WarnerMedia, and former Disney Imagineering chief Bruce Vaughn, according to Forbes. The company’s flagship curriculum, Biology in the Alien Zoo, actually traces back to an unproduced Hollywood movie script Parkes co-wrote with Spielberg before it was repurposed as an interactive classroom simulation, as reported by Business Insider. In the simulation, students take on missions involving data analysis and scientific concepts while working to save a species from extinction.
An ASU Connection Runs Through the Deal
Montclair State University President Jonathan Koppell has a direct tie to the technology’s origins: before taking office in Montclair in August 2021, he served as dean of the Watts College of Public Service and Community Solutions and as vice provost at Arizona State University, where Dreamscape Learn was originally developed, according to ASU News. Koppell said the lab prepares students for the world they will enter and that immersive learning produces better student outcomes. “Montclair State is all in on the virtual reality lab,” he said.
Keith Strudler, dean of the College of Communication and Media, said the lab will help students learn to storyboard, design and code. Montclair State itself said the technology creates a truly immersive educational experience. The university has framed the investment as central to preparing a student body where roughly seven in ten students come from households earning under $80,000 and half are first-generation four-year degree students.
State Funding Ties the Lab to a Bigger Film Push
The lab’s arrival is part of a broader state strategy. The New Jersey Economic Development Authority approved the $3 million New Jersey Film Works Grant Program in March 2025 and signed memoranda of understanding with Montclair State University and Brookdale Community College to build the state’s digital media workforce pipeline, according to the New Jersey Economic Development Authority. In October 2025, the agency awarded $3 million across five workforce initiatives under that program to support job training aligned with major state film studio developments, including Netflix in Monmouth County. The agency also mentioned 1888 Studios in Bayonne.
New Jersey Secretary of Higher Education Margo Chaly said colleges must think creatively and partner strategically to prepare students for a changing workforce. She added that the lab connects students to economic opportunity and shows that New Jersey colleges and universities are evolving to meet student needs. The Film Works Grant Program is part of a statewide strategy to strengthen the digital media industry, tying Montclair State’s new classroom directly to the state’s ambitions of becoming a production hub.
How the Technology Has Performed Elsewhere
The underlying research suggests the approach has academic teeth. An Arizona State University study analyzing more than 4,000 students from fall 2022 through spring 2024 found that students taking Dreamscape Learn VR biology courses were 1.7 times more likely to earn an A on lab assignments compared to traditional lab models, with average assignment grades reaching 90% or higher across all demographic groups, per ASU News. Since its spring 2022 debut, the VR biology course has reached more than 25,000 students at Arizona State University, leading that school to transition all of its introductory biology labs to the platform, according to Caldwell University. Dreamscape Learn also raised $20 million in Series A funding in January 2023 from investors including GSV Ventures, Verizon Ventures, Bold Capital Partners, and Cengage Group to expand the platform beyond ASU.
According to a 2025 study indexed by the National Library of Medicine’s PubMed Central, high-immersion virtual reality significantly improved learning outcomes for both types of knowledge, with large effect sizes. A 2025 study published in the University of Arizona’s Information Technology and Learning Tools journal found that VR significantly enhanced historical knowledge while increasing students’ interest and positive attitudes.
Montclair State isn’t the only New Jersey school betting on the technology. Caldwell University announced its own partnership with Dreamscape Learn in February 2026 to bring VR learning into its classrooms, reflecting what appears to be a broader shift among New Jersey colleges toward immersive teaching tools. As New Jersey’s second-largest public university behind Rutgers, Montclair State serves approximately 24,000 students, and its scale gives the state’s economic development bet on VR education a much wider testing ground.
Essex County/North Jersey-Science, Tech & Medicine
