Prior research on 360°/VR rarely distinguishes types of prior experience (entertainment vs. educational) and often emphasizes presence while overlooking other learning-relevant affordances. We studied 252 Grade 4–5 students who used Meta Quest 2 head-mounted displays to view viewpoint-specific 360° videos on earthquakes, disaster preparedness, and the sun’s position. Guided by a four-affordance framework: Opening Observation (OO), Critical Distance (CD), Spatial Presence (SP), and Investigative Space (IS). We addressed four questions: (RO1) engagement levels on each affordance; (RO2) grade/lesson differences; (RO3) whether prior 360° panoramic, general VR, and VR-for-learning experiences uniquely predict outcomes; and (RO4) perceptions/logistics. All affordances exceeded the scale midpoint. Grade-level comparisons favored Grade 4 over Grade 5 (Hedges’ g ≈ 0.30–0.56). Topic comparisons showed higher CD and SP for concrete, artifact-rich scenes (earthquake/disaster) than for the more abstract celestial content (sun’s position). Crucially, prior 360° panoramic and VR-for-learning experience predicted higher OO, CD, IS, and overall means (g ≈ 0.32–0.55), whereas general VR (entertainment) showed no statistically significant effects. Thematic feedback emphasized enjoyment and requests for more devices, with minimal discomfort (~2%). Findings clarify which prior experiences matter for 360°/VR learning and indicate that affordances beyond presence especially OO, CD, and IS are sensitive to experiential familiarity.