A wire in the form of a trapeze swing hangs between the poles of a powerful magnet. When a current is passed through the wire, it jumps violently out from the poles.
A magnet deflects the large curly filament of a light bulb connected to a DC source. If an AC source is used, the filament vibrates impressively (See AC-DC Difference [1]).
A model of a meter movement shows how a coil rotates in the field of a permanent magnet when a current is pulsed through it.
Often during his lectures at the University of Copenhagen H. C. Oersted had demonstrated the non-existence of a connection between electricity and magnetism. He would place a compass needle near to and at right angles to a current carrying wire to show that there was no effect of one on the other. After one of the lectures a student asked, "but, Professor Oersted, what would happen if the compass needle was placed parallel to the current carrying wire?" Oersted said, "Well, let's see," and went down in the history of physics; the student's name is forgotten.
(Adapted from H.E. White, Modern College Physics, pp 433, D. Van Nostrand, Princeton, 1962)
Large currents passed through two neighboring parallel wires cause them to attract dramatically, or to repel if the currents are passed antiparallel.
A box with parallel and antiparallel wires made of aluminum foil exists for lecture demonstrations. The box sits on the overhead projector and is powered with a 12V supply. The motion of the wires is easily detected by the class as the experiment is magnified on a screen.
A long straight wire demonstration, a solenoid field, and a field of a current loop are available in compass table form. Many tiny compass needles turn to outline the magnetic fields for overhead projection, saving you the trouble of carefully spreading the iron filings.
Links:
[1] https://demoweb.physics.ucla.edu/node/165