The Smithsonian Institution
Gore Vidal
It is 1939 and the U.S. is on the cusp of a world war when a teenaged
science prodigy from St. Albans School in D.C. is summoned to the
Smithsonian Institution, where he becomes involved in a scheme to change
history. When the Smithsonian closes to the public, the wax figures on
exhibit come to life, while scientists in the basement experiment with
time travel and nuclear physics.
This summary is courtesy of McNaughton Books