High school bunsen burners usually burn methane, also known as "natural gas". They wouldn't *need* to, but they usually do because there is a house natural gas supply and natural gas is cheaper.

Use a pilot light. You could have starting issues with an electric lighter. They can be addressed, but it's too hard. You basically need to design the valve and ignitor so that there is a combustable mixture at the spark.

On second thought, you can cannibalize a gas grill burner with piezoelectric lighter for this purpose. You'll need two valves, one for the main combustor and one for the grill burner. Start the grill valve, ignite it with the piezo, then turn on the main valve. You could do all of this electronically, of course, and some experimentation should help you get the timing right (you need to wait until the grill burner lights before opening the main valve). The grill burner provides the "pilot" for the main burner, but it has a remote start that someone has already worked all the bugs out of.

FWIW,

Jim