His business, The Kaleidoscope Factory, gained a following, attracting admirers from across the state and the Midwest to the shop on Main Street. Olson died in 2019, but his family and friends kept the business going.

In a tribute to the way Olson’s shop put Pocahontas County on the map, much larger kaleidoscopes have been put up in each city in the county.

Those kaleidoscopes and the efforts to promote them were honored at the recent Iowa Tourism Conference

During the conference, Pocahontas County received one of the first You Rock Geode Awards for its exceptional efforts to improve and market Iowa tourism with the kaleidoscope project. Parker Aden, executive director of the Pocahontas Chamber of Commerce, and MaryJo Litwiller, a member of the Pocahontas Economic Development Visioning Committee, accepted the award.

Stephanie Neppl, of Travel Iowa, said this when presenting the award:

“We talk a lot about placemaking when it comes to tourism and leveraging the uniqueness of your community. Pocahontas County has taken this and created a brand new initiative, installing life-size interactive kaleidoscopes across the county. The idea was created by the Inspire PoCo Leadership Group in 2023 and with funding from a Rural Enrichment Grant, came to life. The project is inspired by the late Leonard Olson’s Kaleidoscope Factory, which was in Pocahontas. With multiple kaleidoscopes already installed and more planned, Pocahontas County has created a brand new tourism attraction and reason to visit.”