The present investigation was designed to determine if the learning benefits of metaphors and graphics could be combined into one instructional device--a metaphorical graphic--to aid in the acquisition of difficult concepts of chemistry. The authors further sought to determine if metaphorical graphics could foster greater retention of the basic properties of chemical elements when compared to verbal descriptions of those properties or traditional graphical representations of elements commonly seen as orbital diagrams in chemistry textbooks. The findings revealed that metaphorical graphics helped learners to develop a deeper understanding of the behavior and reactivity, but not physical properties, of the features of fifteen selected chemical elements. (Contains 10 tables and 4 figures.)