Like miniature entrepreneurs, the 87 Middle School STEAM students unveiled their eco-friendly creations at the school’s first Eco Expo Thursday afternoon.

The students assembled in two classrooms to judge each other’s projects, which instructor Julie Walker said were designed to be products that “solved any problem, but had a sustainable component.”

“It had to either be environmentally sustainable, economically sustainable, or socially sustainable,” Walker said. “Many of them were made out of recycled materials. Some were made with [fewer] materials, so it wasn’t as wasteful. Some products would last longer.”

Walker said the idea for the projects, for which the students began brainstorming at the beginning of the year, was inspired by the show “Shark Tank,” in which entrepreneurs pitch their ideas to potential investors.

Walker said the students not only had come up with the idea, but they also had to come up with a solid business plan for it, and cost analysis of the product.

“They not only invented it, they did a patent search to make sure it didn’t already exist,” Walker said. “They created a marketing plan, [and] their own logo that went with it.”

The products ran the gamut from a hockey stick handle that wouldn’t break to unused clothes made into pillows.

Amanda DaCruz, 13, created a solar-powered car to solve air pollution, which she said is sustainable, because it does not need to be powered by fossil fuels, like a normal car.

“I wanted to do something solar-powered, because of air pollution, so I looked up solar-powered cars,” DaCruz said. “I saw a bunch of designs for it, but nothing that had actually happened yet. No one had actually made it yet.”

Erin Glass, 13, said she decided to created completely organic makeup. Her formula was a mixture of zinc oxide, gold mica dust, cocoa powder, and clay powder.

“Other makeup isn’t all organic, it’s mostly organic,” Glass said. “Mine’s 100 percent organic.”

Walker said she and the other instructors were looking forward to next year’s Eco Expo. She said the expo is a good learning opportunity for the students.

“It’s getting them thinking that they can invent anything, and they can fix their own problems,” Walker said. “That’s really the goal.”