Bamboo is great in that it's an environmentally sustainable material, but it's also very soft and doesn't hold up well to repeated abuse.  We have bamboo flooring in our exhibit galleries, and in my experience it scratches very easily.  We have to be careful when moving exhibit cases in our temporary gallery because dragging them on the floor will scratch it.  And the few times we've tried putting graphics on the floor("This way to blank exhibit" with an arrow) it pulled up part of the surface layer when we removed them. 
 
I can't say whether or not this is a problem for all bamboo flooring since this is my only experience with it, but I applaud the effort to be green.  I do have to say that the flooring has held up better in other areas where we don't have to move exhibit cases and crates on a regular basis, but I don't think I'd recommend it for areas where you want a durable surface that can take a lot of abuse and still look good.
 
 
Jennifer Wisniewski
Exhibits Specialist
William J. Clinton Presidential Library
 
And of course, this email expresses my personal opinion and not that of my employer (National Archives and Records Administration) or the federal government which NARA is a part of.


>>> Stacey Otte <[log in to unmask]> 7/30/2012 12:34 PM >>>
Hi, all

Does anyone have any experience with using bamboo flooring in a museum
setting?  In particular I'm wondering about durability and type used.

Thanks in advance!

Stacey Otte
Executive Director
The Wildling Museum
2928 San Marcos Ave.
Los Olivos, CA 93441
805-686-8216 (direct phone)
http://www.wildlingmuseum.org 
Where art and nature meet

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May 23 - September 9
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