If you've spent any time around children, you know they think they can do anything. As adults, we lose that enthusiasm and confidence and forget what children can accomplish with their can-do attitudes. But the truth is that some of their accomplishments put us adults to shame.
It doesn't always take a lifetime to achieve something great. Throughout history, young people have made notable discoveries, excelled in the arts, and wowed us with their intelligence. And they are still doing it today. Here are seven kids who have done some pretty awesome things before most of us were old enough to drive (or even tie our shoes!)
Diego Suarez - Archaeologist
How many people can boast that they have a dinosaur named after them? Diego Suarez can! When he was 7 years old, this boy from Chile found the first fossils of a newly discovered dinosaur while on an archeological dig with his family. Diego, now 18, can tell all his friends about the Chilesaurus diegosuarezi. And to think all we ever dug up were old toys in the playground sandbox.
Aelita Andre - Painter
Imagine you're at an art gallery reading the description of a painting when you discover the artist was only 2 when she painted it. Aelita Andre is an amazing little artist from Australia, who started having her paintings shown in galleries at the age of 2. Now that she's 7, Aelita has been compared to great painters like Picasso, and her artwork is on display and in demand all over the world. Sure beats those kindergarten stick-figure drawings we were doing at that age.
Tristan Pang - Mathematician
Most of us have a hard enough time with high school math, but Tristan Pang was doing it when he was 2 years old. At age 9, he had the highest score in the United Kingdom on a qualifying math exam normally taken by high school students. At age 11, he became one of the youngest people to deliver a TED talk. Then at 12, he decided he wanted to help others and launched Tristan's Learning Hub, a website that provides math, science and English lessons. Now at 13, he's in his second year at the University of Auckland. Who knows what he'll accomplish next!
Cleopatra Stratan - Singer
Many young girls may dream of becoming music stars, but one little girl got that fame at the ripe young age of 3. Cleopatra Stratan, of Moldova, was in a recording studio with her father when she grabbed the microphone and started singing. Soon after, she recorded her own successful music album. One of those songs even became a No. 1 hit in the country of Romania. Now at age 12, she has released four full-length albums and her music videos have millions of views on YouTube. And here most of us adults are still just singing to ourselves in the shower.
Kathryn Gray - Astronomer
In January 2011, Kathryn Gray was looking at photos of the night sky when she noticed a difference between two images taken of the same location. It turned out the difference she saw was a supernova, the explosion of a large star. At the age of 10, this made Kathryn the youngest person to discover a supernova. Two years later, her brother Nathan Gray also helped discover a supernova just after his 10th birthday. Now that's one bright family!
Onafujiri Remet - Photographer
While most toddlers are taking selfies with their parents' phones, Onafujiri Remet is out taking photos of life in Nigeria. This little photographer had his street photography featured in an exhibit in 2013 when he was only 3 years old. Fuji, as he is known by his family, says he wants to be a professional photographer, and it sounds like he is well on his way already. Since most of use probably don't even know what half the buttons on our cameras do, this little guy is pretty impressive.
Ayan Qureshi - Computer Specialist
They say that young people pick up technology pretty quickly, but how about a six-year-old who's certified to install and configure a Windows Operating System? Ayan Qureshi, who lives in England, became the youngest certified computer specialist when he passed a Microsoft certification exam a month before his sixth birthday. That's a test normally taken by IT professionals in college. Most of us adults are lucky if we can start our computers, let alone install our own operating systems.