I'm not sure, but it sounds like maybe you are mixing Classic VPython with Jupyter VPython.
See
vpython.org for details. There are three versions of VPython:
1) Classic VPython is no longer under development. It is installed using instructions in the "Download" pages at
vpython.org and involves installing Python 2.7, then installing the visual module, and if on a Mac, installing an update to Tcl. Classic VPython is invoked by importing "visual".
2) Jupyter VPython requires use of the Jupyter notebook. The easiest installation is to install Anaconda, then use pip to install the vpython module. Jupyter VPython is invoked by importing "vpython". On the first page of
vpython.org there is a link to a zip file of example programs in the form of Jupyter notebooks.
3) GlowScript VPython is available at
glowscript.org. Compilation and execution are performed in your browser; no installation is required.
The Jupyter and GlowScript versions both use the GlowScript GPU-based graphics library to render the 3D animations, using WebGL.