Walking up the red—er, orange—carpet of Nickelodeon's Australian Kids' Choice awards in Sydney on Oct. 11, Bindi Irwin giggled and grinned as any other 8-year-old would. "I'm going to slime my mum!" she said, referring to the ceremony's traditional downpouring of goop. This was a far happier occasion than Bindi's last public appearance, where she stoically spoke at the Sept. 20 memorial for her father, Crocodile Hunter Steve Irwin. Still, despite the fun of signing autographs alongside mom Terri, 42, it was a bittersweet night. Bindi was supposed to have gone to the show with her father, who died six weeks ago when a stingray barb pierced his heart. He was set to hand out the Fave Aussie prize. Instead, Bindi did the job. "It's sad that he couldn't be here, but it's nice that I could be here to do it," she said.

The Irwins' daughter is also carrying on her father's work with a show of her own, Bindi, the Jungle Girl, which will air on Discovery Kids in January. In it, Bindi cavorts with everything from koala bears to snakes. "I'm trying to get across the message that 'don't be afraid of animals,'" Bindi told an Australian news show. "Some people think that I would be afraid of them, but I'm never ever afraid of an animal. I just get excited." The series, in which Irwin himself plays a major role (he was shooting a segment for it when he died), showcases a little girl every bit as exuberant as her dad. "She's really excited about talking to the camera about wildlife and singing and dancing," says family friend John Stainton, whose company is producing the show. And when Bindi's not filming, she's doing her best to get back into her daily routine. Says Stainton: "She does all the normal things little girls do, like play with dolls and her friends. She's learning the piano, she's learning to surf and loving it. She's just a very special little girl who enjoys life."