In a simpler time all a child or an adult needed to enjoy the outdoors was a ball and a stick. Or maybe an old tire tied to a high branch to fashion a swing. And the only instruction given to children was to “be home before dark”. Now there are iPads and computers and television screens and shrinking safe public spaces. But despite the distractions and limitations of space, these images show the charm of kicking a ball or skipping rope endures. Sometimes with modifications as a nod to changing times. Here: in this Saturday, June 20, 2015 photo, a boy runs while playing with a motorcycle wheel in Samugari, Ayacucho, Peru. (Photo by Rodrigo Abd/AP Photo)

Subway passengers walk past bronze sculptures representing the Soviet people at the Ploshchad Revolyutsii metro station in Moscow, on November 14, 2012. The station was opened in 1938. (Photo by Kirill Kudryavtsev/AFP Photo)

In this May 12, 2017 photo, Pupy, an African elephant, stands in the doorway of his enclosure at the former city zoo now known as Eco Parque in Buenos Aires, Argentina. A year ago the 140-year old Buenos Aires zoo closed its doors and was transformed into a park. The first director decided that the animals should be housed in buildings that reflected their countries of origin. A replica of a Hindu temple was built for the Asian elephants. (Photo by Natacha Pisarenko/AP Photo)

A cafe-restaurant staff stands outside as people drink coffee in Monastiraki district of Athens, on Monday, May 25, 2020. Greece restarted regular ferry services to its islands Monday, and cafes and restaurants were also back open for business as the country accelerated efforts to salvage its tourism season. (Photo by Petros Giannakouris/AP Photo)

A woman wears false flag eyelashes during the St Patrick's day parade through Dublin city centre on St Patrick's day, on March 17, 2013. (Photo by Julien Behal/PA Wire)

A security personnel keeps watch before the second plenary session of the National People's Congress (NPC) at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, China on March 8, 2022. (Photo by Carlos Garcia Rawlins/Reuters)

Spectators pose for a photo upon entry for Derby Day at Flemington Racecourse on October 30, 2021 in Melbourne, Australia. Victoria's COVID-19 restrictions have eased to allow spectators to return to Flemington racecourse for the first time since 2019. (Photo by Asanka Ratnayake/Getty Images)

Family members perform the Manene traditional rite, cleaning the relatives' preserved remains, in Lembang on August 15, 2022, which is held every three years in August and is said to bless the harvest of rice fields. (Photo by Andri Saputra/AFP Photo)