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 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)

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 Danish supporter shouts prior the group A Hockey World Championship match between Denmark and Kazakhstan in Helsinki, Finland, Saturday May 14, 2022. (Photo by Martin Meissner/AP Photo)

A reveller drinks wine while waiting for the launch of the “Chupinazo” rocket, to mark the official opening of the 2023 San Fermín fiestas in Pamplona, Spain, Thursday, July 6, 2023. (Photo by Alvaro Barrientos/AP Photo)

England fans react as their team scores during the FIFA Women's World Cup Australia & New Zealand 2023 Semi Final match between England and Australia, at Boxpark Wembley on August 16, 2023 in London, England. (Photo by Leon Neal/Getty Images)

An American white pelican takes flight on the island of Petatan in the municipality of Cojumatlan de Regules, Michoacan state, Mexico on February 23, 2024. The island becomes home to the pelicans during the winter, when they travel from the north of the United States and the south of Canada to the warmer waters of Lake Chapala in Mexico. The birds are a tourist attraction and people gather on the island's boardwalk to feed them and watch them fly. (Photo by Enrique Castro/AFP Photo)

A Syrian boy sells balloons as the sun sets over the Mediterranean waterfront promenade in Beirut, Lebanon, Saturday, August 23, 2025. (Photo by Bilal Hussein/AP Photo)