One key objective for students studying university-level biochemistry is to connect the precise three-dimensional biomolecule structures to their function. For simple small molecules—like an amino acid or a simple sugar—this challenge has been managed by model-building sets. However, these are inadequate for large biomolecules such as proteins. Over the years, various strategies have emerged to present protein structures to biochemistry students: simple pictures in textbooks, stereo views with 3D glasses, and now allowing students to manipulate structures on computer screens. Nonetheless, this approach does not enable students to easily visualize the three-dimensional aspects of protein structures, creating a barrier to student engagement and effective teaching. This study investigated the potential of virtual reality headsets (VR) to overcome this barrier in two courses during the fall of 2024. Several homework assignments permitted students to engage with computers or virtual reality headsets in a general biochemistry course that included a mix of junior, senior, and graduate-level students. Most opted to use only the flat screen instead of the VR system. Additionally, in a senior-level protein course, 10 of 84 students tried the VR system after using the computer screen version of their molecules. These students unanimously reported that most of what they learned about their protein’s structure came from the initial viewing on the computer screen rather than through VR headsets. As artificial intelligence (AI) increases the number of known protein structures and molecular modeling empowers biotech to build on these structures for various practical applications, finding effective ways to engage students in understanding biochemical structures is important. I will share the lessons learned over the past semester in engagement and creating meaningful learning experiences with these VR headsets, such as the importance of cultivating buy-in for the learning objectives for students even when using flashy new technology.