The goal of this study was to take a first step in evaluating the potential of virtual reality (VR) as a learning environment. The context of the study was The Technology Academy, a technology-oriented summer day camp for students ages 5-18, where student activities center around hands-on exploration of new technology (e.g., robotics, MIDI digital sound interfaces, multi-media, and virtual reality) during 1 week sessions. Information was gathered during a 7-week period in order to evaluate VR in terms of usefulness and appeal to students ages 10-15 and to document the students' behavior and opinions as they used VR to construct and explore their own virtual worlds. Concurrently, usability data were collected on system design issues in tailoring VR to learning applications. This report outlines the theoretical framework of the study, describes the research context, and outlines the students' VR activities. Both the pedagogical methodology in designing the students' learning experience and the observation methodology used to record and evaluate student responses are described. A summary of the results of the forced choice and open-ended questions given to the students on an opinion survey are included in the report, as well as a discussion of the observations of the students and descriptions of the virtual worlds constructed by the students. The report concludes with a preliminary evaluation of the usefulness of VR for education. (Contains 23 references.) (ALF)