Abraham Lincoln is coming to Colorado.

To mark the 200th anniversary of the 16th president's birth, Colorado Christian University opens the exhibit "Abraham Lincoln: A Man of His Time, A Man for All Times" tonight and continues with events through Feb. 25, including lectures on Lincoln's faith and his effect on post-modern civil rights.

The two-hour PBS special, Looking for Lincoln, airs Wednesday on Rocky Mountain PBS (KRMA-Channel 6 in Denver).

The Colorado Historical Society is designing a traveling exhibit on Lincoln's influence on the West, which is expected to open in May.

Most of the events have been organized by the Lincoln Bicentennial Commission put together by Gov. Bill Ritter to mirror celebrations in other states.

"I think it is important especially to think about the best parts of our past . . . Abraham Lincoln is a transformative figure," Ritter said. "I would argue that we're at another place in our history where we could see other transformational changes as well."

Commission members also are sponsoring a student essay contest and working with teachers statewide on how to bring Lincoln to life for kids.

The trick, commission co- chairman Syd Nathans said, is to talk not just about the Lincoln everyone knows from the 15,000 books that have been written about him. There should be discussions on his humor, his support of the transcontinental railroad and the anti-slavery, pro- Western tradition he handed down to Colorado.

"This is a man who redefined America, who helped to save the Union and who helped to shape the West," said Nathans, professor emeritus of history at Duke University. "Our bicentennial in Colorado is really about the stamp that Lincoln put on us."