Through partnerships with scientists, students can now conduct research in science laboratories from a distance through remote access technologies. The purpose of this study was to explore factors that contribute to a remote learning environment by documenting high school students' perceptions of science motivation, science identity, and virtual presence during a remote microscopy investigation. Exploratory factor analysis identified 3 factors accounting for 63% of the variance, which suggests that "Science Learning Drive" (students' perception of their competence and performance in science and intrinsic motivation to do science), "Environmental Presence" (students' perception of control of the remote technology, sensory, and distraction factors in the learning environment, and relatedness to scientists), and "Inner Realism Presence" (students' perceptions of how real is the remote programme and being recognised as a science-oriented individual) were factors that contribute to a student's experience during a remote investigation. Motivation, science identity, and virtual presence in remote investigations are explored.