An eight-year-old boy from Chino Hills is turning heads with a mind that’s off the charts.
Landon Castillo loves music, space, and playing Kerbal Space Program. When he met with KNX News’ Nataly Tavidian at an RV campsite in Newport Beach, he couldn’t wait to get into the water.
“I like going on that water pipe,” he said.
But unlike most kids his age, Landon just joined Mensa, a high IQ society with around 150,000 members of all ages in more than 90 countries worldwide.
“I just know it's like in an elite society for smart kids or adults,” he said.
His mother, Jennifer, recalled seeing her son’s test scores.
“When we looked at it, we were in shock,” she said. “We were just like…I couldn't believe…was I reading it right? Was I reading it backwards? But it was true.”
His parents said Landon scored in the 99th percentile. His IQ? 159.
They first took notice of his intelligence when he was three years old, and they taught him chess.
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“He literally beat both of us at chess, and we weren't going easy on him,” his father, Andrew, said.
His parents said they're nurturing his intellect and his playfulness.
“We let him be a kid,” Jennifer said. “Andrew's done a great job of making the backyard really fun with the backyard train zip line, animatronics, but he also gets [Landon] involved as well with building the animatronics. But he's just a kid at heart, and we let him be that and have his childhood.”
In addition to Mensa, Landon was just accepted into the Johns Hopkins Center for Talented Youth, a three-week-long summer program.
As for what he wants to be when he grows up, Landon said a mechanical engineer or an astronaut.
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