Chart Type Gallery
Run the Chart Type Gallery Fullscreen
About This MicroSim
This interactive gallery displays 14 chart types commonly used in data visualization, organized in a responsive grid layout. Each thumbnail renders a miniature example of the chart using either Chart.js (for standard chart types) or canvas-drawn approximations (for D3.js and other specialized types).
Click any chart thumbnail to see detailed information in the panel below, including what the chart is best for, the expected data shape, a concrete educational use case, and a practical tip about when not to use it.
How to Use
- Browse the gallery grid — each thumbnail shows a recognizable example of that chart type
- Click any thumbnail to select it and view details in the info panel below
- Filter by library using the buttons at the top: All, Chart.js, D3.js, or Other
- Quiz Mode — click "Quiz Mode" to hide chart names, then click a thumbnail and type what chart type you think it is. The quiz tracks your score as you go.
Chart Types Covered
| Row | Charts |
|---|---|
| 1 | Bar Chart, Stacked Bar Chart, Line Chart, Area Chart |
| 2 | Pie Chart, Donut Chart, Scatter Plot, Histogram |
| 3 | Treemap, Sankey Diagram, Chord Diagram, Word Cloud |
| 4 | Gauge Chart, Sparkline |
Lesson Plan
Grade Level
Undergraduate / Professional Development
Duration
10-15 minutes
Prerequisites
Basic familiarity with data types (categorical vs. numerical) and an understanding of why data visualization matters in education and communication.
Activities
- Gallery Exploration (5 min): Students browse all 14 chart types, clicking each to read the "Best for" and "Data shape" descriptions. They note which chart types they have never used before.
- Quiz Challenge (5 min): Students activate Quiz Mode and try to identify as many chart types as possible from the thumbnails alone. Goal: 10 or more correct out of 14.
- Matching Exercise (5 min): Working in pairs, students receive a list of five datasets and must agree on which chart type best fits each one, using the gallery as a reference.
Assessment
Students can correctly identify at least 10 of 14 chart types by visual appearance and can articulate the data characteristics (categorical, continuous, hierarchical, relational) that make each chart type appropriate.