At Sleepy Hole Park on Saturday, girls stacked and balanced cans of tuna, boxes of pasta and other food to form skyscrapers and a castle.

The Girl Scouts were competing to impress the judges with their constructions made of cans. Later, they would participate in games and a trivia contest about Girl Scouts founder Juliette Gordon Low and find out the winner of a cupcake-decorating contest for which there were 28 entries.

The event was all in commemoration of Low’s birthday, which is on Oct. 31. The revered woman would turn 152 years old this year, were she still alive.

“It’s a great time of year to celebrate,” said Dina Crewe, troop leader for Troop 431, which meets at Northern Shores Elementary School.

The cans used for the construction projects were donated to the Foodbank of Southeastern Virginia after the event was over.

“Every October, we do a food drive, but I thought it would be more fun for the girls to build something and then donate,” said Susan Buchy, troop leader for Troop 5292, which meets in Driver.

“She was very much about giving back to the community,” Crewe said of Low. “The more you involve the kids, the more they take ownership.”

Some of the girls participating in the event had learned about community service even earlier that morning, when they ran in the Komen Race for the Cure in Virginia Beach.

Girls at the event knew why they were celebrating Low’s birthday.

“She’s a role model for us,” said Megan Hough, of Troop 431.

Madelyn Alspaugh, also of Troop 431, recalled what prompted Low to start Girl Scouts.

“She saw Boy Scouts, and she thought there should be a program for girls to improve their leadership skills,” she said.

“They’re learning about where it all started from, and the values of Scouting,” Buchy said.