BATON ROUGE - BREC's Baton Rouge Zoo saw a large crowd on Saturday as they celebrated 53 years of being open.

"We have a ton of fun things going on. Inflatables, free face painting, free birthday cake, animal enrichments, you name it. It also gives everyone the time to come see the new hippos," Robyn Lott, Director of Marketing, said.

Some parts of the zoo are closed off as renovations are underway, including the giraffe's area.

"We will be opening our giraffe exhibit with our feeding platform so they can pay a few dollars to get lettuce leaf and feed the giraffe face to face which will be amazing," Lott said.

The hippo exhibit re-opened Saturday after undergoing renovations. 

"It's a lot cooler of an experience, it definitely is," Allison, a mother visiting the zoo said.

Sapo Springs features an underwater viewing structure for its hippos, Spencer and Ginger.

"In the past it was very difficult to see them. Now you can get right up to the glass, see them swimming, walking, frolicking, it's a lot more engaging," Lott said.

The zoo is re-doing the train tracks so that riders will travel through some of the exhibits. The first phase of renovations will be completed by the end of next year, the entire master plan will take 30 years.

"Anytime there is something worth having, it's worth working for, and waiting for," Lott said.

The birthday celebration will continue on Sunday.