Need a study break? Here are a few options.

• Kitten Cuddle. A limited number of students will enjoy a few minutes with a kitten Thursday, Dec. 1 at Cabell Library, in Lecture Hall (Room 303). The 1 to 2 p.m. event requires advance registration for kitten time. Tables with food, games and other activities will be set up and open 1 to 3 p.m. This event is organized by the Cabell Library Undergraduate Advisory Committee.
• Dogs on Call. The Community Health Education Center (part of VCU Libraries) offers a stress relief program Friday, Dec. 2 at 11:30 a.m. Dr. Sandra Barker, director of the VCU Center for Human-Animal Interaction and a professor in the VCU Department of Psychiatry, will present tips to minimize the stress that the holidays can bring. Therapy dogs from the VCU Dogs on Call program will be joining her for this presentation. Light refreshments will be served. Seating is limited and registration is required: (804) 828-2432 or email seamick@vcu.edu. The Community Health Education Center is located on the Ground Floor of the VCU Medical Center Gateway Building, 1200 E. Marshall St.
• Coffee and Snack Breaks will be held at Tompkins-McCaw Library for the Health Sciences, 509 N. 12th St., Dec. 5-8 and Dec. 11-15, 3-5 p.m.
• Chamber Music by the Department of Music, Dec. 7, 2-3 p.m., Cabell Library Lobby.
• Mindfulness event/Meditation. University Counseling offers two 20-minute meditation sessions noon-12:30 p.m. Dec. 13 and 3:30-4 p.m. Dec. 14 in Room 311, Cabell Library.
• Throughout exam season, find Legos and mindfulness coloring stations for your use in the Tompkins-McCaw Reading Room.
• Participate in a virtual way with #mindfulfinals. Be on the lookout for a social media campaign through Dec. 16 designed to help students relax. Share selfies or photos of your "happy place" or illustrating "mindfulness" to personal social media using the hashtag #mindfulfinals. You can also send photos to socialmedia@vcu.edu for posting. More information and a list of events.
• Look up and take a break with the Big Screen. The 25-foot-tall Cabell Library screen, which faces Shafer Court, is programmed with images designed to delight, inspire and renew you. One current exhibit features alumnus Wei Dong (M.F.A. '88/A). He says he's the first Chinese national to study art at VCU, and his paintings offer a haunting east-meets-west quality. More about this show, on view through January. Also showing during the exam season and break on the Big Screen are 3D-modeled representations of superatoms and atomic clusters created in the open-source program Blender by VCU Physics Department faculty Shiv Khanna, Ph.D., and Arthur Reber, Ph.D. More about their work.
• Visit the Workshop. On the lower level at Cabell Library, this is a place for hands-on work. Make something, play around with a new software.
• Go outside. Tuck your study gear in one of the free lockers at Cabell Library and run around the block, go over to the gym for a quick workout or just sit outside and watch what's on the Cabell Big Screen for a few minutes. Fresh air and movement do wonders.
• Read a book. Last but surely not least, take a breather with a book of poetry, fiction, short stories or essays. Savor the beauty of words and give your mind a break.