The University of New Mexico's ARTSLab received congressionally directed funds from NASA to launch the Artemis in 3D STEAM Challenge and Training Program, an initiative aimed at advancing immersive technology access and education across the state.
The cost and complexity of Augmented Reality (AR) and Virtual Reality (VR) hardware and software make it difficult for many New Mexicans to access or experience immersive technologies.
In response, the ARTSLab created the Community Immersive Technology Hub (CITH) in the fall of 2024. The CITH is an innovative initiative aimed at making these technologies accessible to the broader community.
ARTSLab Director Stewart Copeland noticed when universities receive VR headsets, they tend to be isolated to one department or college because managing all that demands extensive tracking. "That's what we've been focused on, getting equipment and then figuring out how to make it accessible for researchers and students," Copeland said.
As part of the initiative, graduate student Ella Pigg and undergraduate student Finn Ellis designed and developed Neon Forge, a virtual reality experience created for the Bands of Enchantment Music Festival. Inspired by Route 66's iconic neon sign aesthetic, CITH created Neon Forge to connect with the city's cultural identity while offering festival attendees an immersive hands-on experience.
Festival goers would sign up to get in the queue and have the chance to play on the headsets for about 10 minutes. After signing up at the ARTSLab kiosk station, Neon Forge players were able to create their own virtual neon signs and sculptures using a variety of realistic neon colors and animated blink sequences. Participants could then email their design to themselves as a GIF or 3D file.
Pigg said part of the project goal was to be able to create a game that would be scalable depending on how much prior knowledge of VR the user had. "If you don't know a lot about it, you still are able to draw and have fun. But there are more complex tools that you can explore as you start to get more comfortable with the software," Pigg said.
Copeland said during the festival there was a 45-minute wait—a long line of people wanting to try out Neon Forge, which goes to show how much of a curiosity there is regarding this kind of technology.
In the summer of 2025, UNM partnered with Unity, a development platform, to offer the Unity Educator Upskilling Workshop. It allowed for New Mexico based educators to receive Unity Associate Game Developer training for free. The 13-week virtual workshop guided educators through a technical learning journey covering fundamental Unity skills, game design, programming, and 2D/3D modeling. Fifteen educators from UNM, Central New Mexico college, Albuquerque Public Schools, and Explora participated.
In addition to the workshops, Unity and the ARTSLab offered online courses and webinars hosted by Unity Certified Professionals that provide an overview of how Unity can be applied across different disciplines.
CITH is hosting additional workshops created by community educators, artists, and technologists from across the state and is making them publicly available online. The goal is to highlight real-world uses of immersive technology while making these tools and techniques accessible to learners of all backgrounds.
"I think when you're approaching this from an art lens, it can take you in different directions than maybe your standard computer science or gaming questions," Copeland said.
A museum studies graduate student Prescott Moore recently joined the team to assist in a project called the XR Archive. In short, it allows people to play games as research.
"If we're trying to increase the general literacy, we need to have some kind of archive available of games so people can come in and play as research," Copeland said. "In classes that I teach, when we're talking about VR or AR projects, we're showing video documentation of these projects. It's very rare that you can actually put on a headset and play the project."
While the team is still early on in getting the CITH up and running, they've already encountered a number of successes.
"I think that following our interests is what allowed us to reach these benchmarks so quickly. We're choosing to do projects that we're passionate about," Pigg said. "We're just seeing where everything grows and goes. Any opportunity to learn something new is a success."
