 About
The Compleat Naturalist
The Compleat Naturalist nature
store and wildlife art gallery was founded in 1992 in Historic Biltmore Village,
Asheville, North Carolina,
by Hal and Laura Mahan. Both are professional naturalists with
extensive backgrounds in natural history museums and science education.
Hal served as director of the Cleveland Museum of Natural History and the San
Diego Natural History Museum, and was the first president of the Roger Tory
Peterson Institute of Natural History. He has a Ph.D. in Zoology
(ornithology). Laura is former head of education at both the
Cleveland and San Diego museums, and has an M.S. in Biology (botany and plant
ecology). She also served as an interpretive naturalist for several years
with the Cleveland Metroparks System.
Our store carries merchandise relating to all
fields of nature study: birds, botany, astronomy, entomology, geology,
mineralogy, anthropology, and paleontology. In addition to our
retail activities, The Compleat Naturalist satisfies a strong educational
mission by offering a variety of classes and field trips. We also are
proud to be a locally-owned, independent retailer.
We believe that a lifelong interest in natural
history can profoundly change a person's life, providing fascinating worlds to
explore wherever one goes and whatever one's level of expertise. 
(Right:
Laura teaches a field class on identifying wildflowers at Craggy Gardens on the
Blue Ridge Parkway near Asheville.)
Visit
us in Asheville's Historic Biltmore Village (www.shophistoricbiltmorevillage.com)
at the intersection of Hwy. 25A (Brook Street) and Kitchin Place, across
the street from Neo Cantina and next to the Wayside Bar and Grille. Our
address is 2 Brook Street. Free parking is available all along
Brook Street and in the lot across the street, and other streets of
Biltmore Village. The building at 10 Brook Street which houses
Chico's, Talbot's, Williams-Sonoma, Coldwater Creek, and J.Crew, has a
large parking lot under the building. Access the parking from the driveway
next to Chico's.
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