In this study, a desktop virtual reality earth motion system (DVREMS) is designed and developed to be applied in the classroom. The system is implemented to assist elementary school students to clarify earth motion concepts using virtual reality principles. A study was conducted to observe the influences of the proposed system in learning. Twenty-one sixth-grade students participated in the study. Statistical results show that the scores in the pre-test and post-test significantly differ and using virtual reality can assist students in understanding the concepts. Besides, four design recommendations--information, spatial behavior, manipulation and concept representation--for improving the desktop VR system in education are also presented. (Contains 6 tables and 5 figures.)