A good but slightly painful way to demonstrate inductance is to wire up this circuit. It takes about 60 volts to light a neon bulb. Using a 1.5 volt battery or a 5 volt power supply, every time the switch is opened, the neon flashes. This demonstrates the large back EMF when the current in the inductor changes suddenly.

Note: This may not be safe or legal! The neon bulb can be replaced by a brave student volunteer who will be electrocuted each time the switch is opened. An entire class can be electrocuted if all the students hold hands and the ones at the end of the circle hold the wires where the neon bulb goes.

A circuit like this uses a timer to operate the switch to generate high voltage pulses once a second. These are fed into an electric fence to keep farm animals in their field.

A similar circuit generates pulses to create sparks in petrol (gasoline) engines. Up to 6000 accurately timed pulses are needed per second.

Google Video of the same circuit but BIGGER