On Thursday the Ross Park Zoo opened up their Illumination For Conservation lanterns exhibit that goes throughout the zoo, a festival that Phillip Ginter says has filled every open space in the zoo. 

"We are partnering with Tianyu Arts and Culture and they are the group that has provided us with all of these magical lanterns that have filled every nook and cranny here at the zoo," said Ginter. 

Numerous different lantern sculptures of both animals and plants are able to be seen throughout the zoo and even some motion ones that visitors can interact with. 

The second year of this festival and each year it has a focus and this years is to improve Gorilla habitats in the wild. How visitors can do that is by bringing in their old cell phones, laptops, and other small electronic devices where Ginter says will help Gorillas in the wild.

"The batteries that are used in those devices require minerals that are mined in Africa,"says Ginter. "As a result of those mining operations, a lot of the habitats that gorillas would be found in in the wild have been destroyed."

Day one of the festival already had many families enjoy walking through the zoo and being amazed by the size and quality of these sculptures. 

Visitors can come see the sculptures during the day or at night when they are lit up from Wednesday to Sunday each week from 7 P.M. to 11 P.M. all the way until October 29th. 

For more details on tickets or the lantern festival itself visit www.rossparkzoo.org/lanternfest