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)

People jump over a campfire during a celebration on the traditional Ivana Kupala (Ivan the Bather) holiday, the ancient tradition, originating from pagan times, is usually marked with grand overnight festivities during which people sing and dance around campfires, believing it will purge them of their sins and make them healthier, in Kiev, Ukraine, July 6, 2016. (Photo by Gleb Garanich/Reuters)

A string is used to ensure that the skirts of female members of the honour guard are in the same height from the ground as they prepare for a welcoming ceremony for Congo Republic President Denis Sassou Nguesso outside the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, China, July 5, 2016. (Photo by Jason Lee/Reuters)

A monkey catches knives as it balances on a board during a daily training session at a monkey farm in Baowan village, Xinye county of China's central Henan province, February 2, 2016. Baowan village of China's central Henan province appears to be your average farming community from the surface, but at a closer look, one can hear monkey hoots from every direction. Although no official number exists, villagers say that they have been a breeding ground for both monkeys and monkey trainers for centuries. (Photo by Jason Lee/Reuters)

“The Independence day”. While on storm chasing expeditions in the Tornado Alley in USA I have encountered many photogenic supercell storms. This photograph was taken while we were approaching the storm near Julesburg, Colorado on My 28th, 2013. The storm was tornado warned for more than one hour, but stayed an LP storm through all its cycles and never produced a tornado, just occasional brief funnels, large hail and some rain. Photo location: Julesburg, Colorado, USA. (Photo and caption by Marko Korošec/National Geographic Photo Contest)

A woman wearing a mask walk in a street in a Yonghegong Lama temple compound seen shrouded in smog in Beijing, China, 30 November 2015. Beijing issued an orange alert for heavy smog 30 November, the highest level this year. Authorities in the Chinese capital warned of 'severe pollution' and advised the capital's 20 million inhabitants to stay indoors. (Photo by How Hwee Young/EPA)

The northern lights, or aurora borealis, appear in the sky over the Bamburgh lighthouse at Stag Rock in Northumberland, England on September 28, 2016. (Photo by Owen Humphreys/PA Wire via ZUMA Press)

A Lebanese man is reflected in a pool of dirty water as he casts his fishing pole from a rocky coastal area along the Beirut coastline, Lebanon, Monday, October 3, 2016. (Photo by Hassan Ammar/AP Photo)