I used to be a full blown pyro in a previous life.
I made some powdered sugar fuel rockets and used to fire them for my powerplant class. I launched them electrically, in the hangar / classroom and "flew" them on a wire across the hangar to a suspended sheet metal "gong". It was a dramatic introduction to the rocket engine and air / fuel ratios.
It had the added benefit of making the hangar smell like carmel corn.
Rockets are fun but they have to be made with care. Rocketeers call them "bombs on a stick", as it is a thin line between a bomb and a rocket.