Chances are everyone played with a kaleidoscope as a child, twisting the tube to make the colored pieces inside of it form one unique pattern after another.

A series of big kaleidoscopes, each of which is several feet long, have popped up across Pocahontas County. They work very much like those little ones to create colorful visions. They have also helped bring fresh attention to the county.

Nobody just decided to put a bunch of kaleidoscopes up in different places. There is a historical link between the toys and the Pocahontas community.

Leonard Olson had a business in downtown Pocahontas called The Kaleidoscope Factory. There, he made kaleidoscopes and other wooden toys. After awhile, people began to come to Pocahontas just to visit Olson’s shop.

He died in 2019, but his family and friends kept the business going, creating a link between the toys and the community.

A group of innovative thinkers got the idea to take that link to the next level.

As a result, six big kaleidoscopes went up in Pocahontas, Fonda, Laurens, Rolfe, Cooper’s Cove County Park and Little Clear Lake.

Plans call for five more of them to go up this summer.

Now, people have more reason to explore Pocahontas County just to see these big kaleidoscopes. In doing so, they are sure to find other unique things in this small, rural county.

The Pocahontas Chamber of Commerce and Pocahontas Economic Development have committed to letting the rest of the state and nation know about these new attractions. Their efforts have been recognized by Iowa Tourism, which recently presented the groups with one of the first You Rock Geode Awards.

We congratulate the people and organizations in Pocahontas County who came up with this idea, made it a reality, and promoted it.

We also encourage people to visit Pocahontas County, see its kaleidoscopes, explore its parks, check out its historic sites and patronize its businesses.