Resolution Solution - The Harvard Recreation Team and the Center for Wellness kicked off their "Resolution Solution" with a winter ice skating party in Bright Hockey Center on Monday. The week continued with zumba dancing, dodgeball, meditation, and other recreational activities. By Jennifer Q. Zhu
New England Aquarium - As part of the "New England Aquarium Adventure" on Tuesday, students visit the New England Aquarium before seeing an IMAX movie, shopping in Quincy Market, and visiting Boston Harbor. By Jennifer Q. Zhu
Focus on Food: Cheese - Matthew Pierce, Sous Chef for Culinary Operations, shows students how to make mozzarella and ricotta cheese on Tuesday as part of the Food Literacy Project's "Focus on Food" series of cooking classes, tours, and movie screenings. By Meredith H. Keffer
Martial Arts - The Martial Arts Research Institute of Salem, MA, teaches sinawali, or stick fighting, to Harvard students as part of Optional Winter Activities Week. By Jennifer Q. Zhu
Harvard Forest - A group of students explored and studied Harvard's 3,500-acre forest in Petersham, MA, as part of the Winter Break at Harvard Forest. Here, students extract a sediment core from Gould's Bog for later analysis in the lab. By Courtesy of Clarisse Hart
Focus on Food: Chocolate - Students roll and coat chocolate truffles on Thursday as part of a Food Literacy Project event that also included a tour of Taza chocolate factory and a movie screening. By Meredith H. Keffer
Focus on Food: Chocolate - Students participating in the Food Literacy Project's chocolate event on Thursday made chocolate mousse and chocolate truffles under the direction of Executive Sous Chef Brian Corcoran. By Meredith H. Keffer
Outing Club - The Harvard Outing Club led a week-long trip to their cabin in New Hampshire. During the day, students participated in winter activities like hiking, snowshoeing, and sledding. By Courtesy of Victor Shnayder
Outing Club - Participants in the Harvard Outing Club's annual winter trip to their cabin in New Hampshire snowshoe across a frozen lake near Carter Notch. By Courtesy of Michael Traver
Quincy snowball fight - Theodore Peng '13 prepares to throw a snowball during an informal snowball fight in Quincy courtyard on Friday. By Meredith H. Keffer
Paintball - The Harvard Shooting Club hosted an "indoor paintball brawl" on Saturday in Randolph, MA. By Jennifer Q. Zhu
HackHarvard - On Sunday, thirteen student teams showcased the computer science projects they had worked on as part of the HackHarvard program over J-Term and the Optional Winter Activities Week. The projects will be publicized heavily by the UC. By Jennifer Q. Zhu
In January 2011, Harvard had its first "Optional Winter Activities Week." Students were able to return to campus a week before the spring semester started in order to participate in a broad range of student-initiated activities.